Ireland faces a shortage of home-grown eating apples this autumn because frost has wiped out nearly 70 per cent of the crop in Kilkenny and Waterford. The severe frost on April 19th/20th has caused devastating crop losses all over northern Europe. Over half the Cox's Pippin crop worth £50 million has been destroyed in Britain. The frost also caused severe damage to apple crops in Belgium and the Netherlands and over much of northern France. Currently, the markets are being supplied from the southern parts of the EU, which were not hit by the frost.
Mr Harry O'Brien, a Teagasc expert on fruit production, said the frost was reckoned to be the heaviest in over 60 years and was concentrated in the Kilkenny and Waterford areas.
"The rest of the country survived the worst of it but unfortunately, 70 per cent of the eating crop is concentrated in these two counties. "As a result, I estimate there will be a great scarcity of Irish eating apples this year." He said initial hopes that the frost had not been too severe on the crop and might even have been beneficial had proved false and farmers in the two counties were estimating they had lost most of their eating apples. "Farmers in the area say it was the most destructive frost they had seen in their lifetimes, coming as it did after a wonderful spring when the apple buds were three weeks ahead of their normal growth," he said.
He said this early growth had contributed to the extent of the damage in the two counties. However, there had been little or no damage to crops in adjoining counties.
"The crops in Wicklow, Cork and up in Armagh are fine and very good but there has been great damage to the main eating crop in the two counties involved," he said.
Ireland grows only 20 per cent of its apple requirement, he added.
British growers yesterday cancelled a £1 million advertising campaign to open the official season because they said they cannot afford to pay for it due to crop losses.