After the frosts, the time has come for the first assessment.
And the bill promises to be salty.
Just like in the wine sector, where at least a third of French wine production will be lost, or about two billion euros in turnover less for the sector, according to the National Federation of Farmers' Unions. (FNSEA), "we consider that the losses will also exceed two billion euros in the arboriculture sector, that is to say four billion euros in total turnover less for the two sectors", indicates to the Parisien-Today in France, André Bernard, vice-president of the chambers of agriculture in charge of the risk management file.
For cereal crops, "where plots could still leave, the losses cannot yet be estimated precisely, but should still amount to several hundred million euros", he underlines.
Very few farmers insured
The professional obtained these figures after having crossed the first reports of regional chambers and production basins.
"We must set in motion the compensation mechanisms and activate the solidarity system, because very few farmers are insured", he pleads, faced with the gravity of the situation.
Indeed, the candles, the helicopters and the installation of towers to stir the air will not have been enough to avoid the bite of the cold and its economic consequences.
VIDEO.
"No matter how hard we heat, it's irrecoverable": after the frost episode, these farmers lost everything
Monday April 12, the Minister of Agriculture, Julien Denormandie, described the episode of frost, which has affected the country's vines and fruit trees for a week, "the greatest agronomic disaster of the beginning of the 21st century".
In total, ten metropolitan regions out of thirteen were affected by frost damage.
The North of France, where 40,000 ha of beetroot froze and where rapeseed did not resist, was particularly affected.