A range of extreme weather, including frost, heat waves and drought, has heavily impacted this year's fruit output of Serbia, posing unprecedented challenges to growers.
Serbia is one of Europe's key fruit producers and ranks among the world's top plum suppliers.
This year, however, a combination of spring frost and summer heatwave-driven drought has caused the output of plum, apricot and other fruit to plummet.
Plum orchards cover roughly 40 percent of Serbia's total fruit-growing area.
In 2024, the country's plum harvest reached about 387,200 tonnes, but agricultural experts now warn that due to extreme weather, the fruit yield could plunge by anywhere from 30 percent to 90 percent, with some regions even facing total losses of 100 percent.
Milutin Curguz tends four hectares of plums and apricots on the outskirts of Belgrade. Back-to-back spring frosts and a summer of heat waves and drought have devastated his harvest.
"After two cold spells, the temperatures dropped to minus three degrees Celsius or minus 4 degrees Celsius [in April], so the trees couldn't be pollinated or set fruit. This year there's absolutely nothing on the branches. In a good season a single branch would carry 30 to 50 plums and bend under the weight. You could hardly walk between the rows," he said.
In a typical year, Milutin earns around 50,000 euros. With this year's collapse in plum production, he expects to lose close to 10,000 euros.
"We have to accept the loss and keep investing. We're hoping for a better harvest next year," he said.
Extreme weather slashes Serbian fruit yields
