Frozen harvests will lead to increased imports, origin fraud may occur

With the spring frost having caused huge damage to early Lithuanian potatoes, asparagus and other vegetables, we will see more imported goods in the marketplaces, according to the director of the Lithuanian Vegetable Growers' Association (LDAA) Indrė Lukoševičienė.

This may mean that we won't see big price hikes for vegetables, but there is a chance of other problems arising, she said.

„We are not against imports, but we have to remember that early vegetables are often imported from third countries, and that in markets and other small outlets there may be cases of falsification of origin“, Lukoševičienė told Elta.

„European Union (EU) regulations on the use of plant protection products do not apply in third countries. This means that these products are not regulated in any way, can be sprayed with a variety of chemicals and are much more harmful than those grown in Europe," the LDAA director said.

According to the Minister of Agriculture, Ignas Hofmann, in some municipalities the loss of vegetable and berry crops due to frost is as high as 80%.

According to Indrė Lukoševičienė, some growers have even lost their entire early harvest, and the stress suffered by the plants may also affect the vegetables harvested later.