Economist warns of storm damage to crops

He said the government has to invest an effort to save farmers from going bankrupt. Prostran said that just 2 percent of crops are protected from the bad weather that struck the major wheat fields across Serbia. “Practically all of Serbia was hit by storms and the ensuing damage… We don’t have exact estimates but the damage is huge,” he added.

According to Prostran, the damages from the storms will total billions. “I won’t say Dinars or Euro but the word billions will certainly be present,” he said.

The economist warned that urgent decisions are needed to ease the fallout and save the farmers from bankruptcy. “We know that the state has a special obligation if the damage from storms is over 10 percent of the GDP,” he said.