FIGURE 20 Evolution of real and nominal value added in Latvian primary agricultural production and food processing
Since 2010, Latvian agriculture has been repeatedly challenged by extreme weather hazards. Severe droughts have struck with increasing frequency, most notably in 2018 when a long dry spell cut grain har- vests by 23.6 percent year-on-year (to 2.1 million tons, the lowest in 7 years). That drought and accompa- nying heatwave inflicted an estimated EUR 359 million in farm losses, from stunted cereals and oilseeds to heat, and by 2023 Latvia faced an even worse drought. Spring 2023 was exceptionally dry (May rainfall was 76 percent below normal, the driest on record since 1924)3, which along with a rare late frost devastated crop nationwide. Orchards were hit hardest: fruit blossoms froze across all regions, with most of the 2023 fruit harvest lost. Preliminary estimates pegged the combined revenue drop for crop and livestock farms at roughly EUR 300 million from this twin drought-and-frost disaster. Conversely, excessive rainfall has pering winter grain sowings. That year, Latvian fruit growers had already suffered significant losses from a spring frost, and the saturating rains brought further damage to orchards. On the other end of the weather swing, violent storms with heavy downpours and hail have struck in mid-growing season. For example,