The Ministry of Agriculture is taking measures to support the affected orchards.

The Minister of Agriculture and Food, Dr. Georgi Tahov, held a meeting with representatives of the "Fruits" sector, where he announced that the protocols from the inspections of the permanent plantations affected by frost or hoar frost will be reviewed. This will allow for a more accurate determination of the affected areas.

The initial results from the field inspections of cherries, apricots, and sour cherries show that some of the plantations have not undergone the necessary agrotechnical measures, which is why they are in poor condition. Minister Tahov explained that an Interdepartmental Working Group will be formed to conduct a re-inspection of these areas.

It became clear that a total of 76,897.33 decares of cherries, apricots, and sour cherries have been affected by frost. The Minister assured that the procedure for the payment of state aid will be carried out as quickly as possible, and that in case of 100% lost areas, the farmers will be compensated with 80% of the incurred expenses.

All data will be submitted to the State Fund Agriculture on a weekly basis to avoid delays in payments. The same working group will start work on creating a System for Identification of Permanent Plantations and Greenhouses, which will contain detailed information about them.

The industry representatives thanked the Ministry's management for the quick organization of the field inspections after the unfavorable climatic events. The Deputy Ministers of Agriculture and Food, Ivan Kapitanov and Yanislav Yanchev, also attended the meeting.