Slovenian fruit growers believe the recent frost did some 44 million euros of damage. An industry representative called for a project to use water sprinkling to protect crops from frost. He said a similar project in Austria had spared some 20,000 hectares of farmland.

They called on the government to help cover the costs.

This is the second year in a row that frost wreaked havoc on Slovenian fruit growers.

The damage assessment is not yet in – but it is expected to be as bad as last year.