Summer drought hits occupied Crimea's wine industry (from Word)

Grape harvest has begun on the occupied peninsula, but the forecasts are currently disappointing. After all, the summer drought and spring frosts have significantly affected the harvest. This is reported by local publications.

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“It is predicted that this year’s harvest, unfortunately, will be 15-18% lower than last year. The decrease in indicators is due, first of all, to damage to grapes during spring frosts. No less significant damage was caused by severe soil drought,” Sergey Aksenov, the “head of Crimea,” explained the reduction in volumes to one of the local occupation publications.

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He also noted that in 2024, 123 thousand tons of grapes were harvested in Crimea.

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The local authorities are “encouraging” Crimean farmers with the opportunity to receive state subsidies, which this year compared to last year have increased by more than 100 million rubles. As the occupation “head of government” noted, in 2024 the state subsidy to winegrowers amounted to 736.8 million rubles, and this year - more than 839.5 million rubles.

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Oleg Nikolaev, “co-founder of the Sevastopol Association of Winegrowers and Winemakers,” also gives disappointing forecasts for the grape harvest.

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“Many Crimean winegrowers suffered from spring frosts and summer drought, so a bountiful harvest this year is not worth expecting,” Nikolaev told the occupation publication.