Britain’s relentless heatwave is squeezing food supplies
Shoppers are facing the prospect of paying more for everyday groceries as Britain’s relentless heatwave begins to squeeze food supplies.
Milk prices are already rising and home grown crops of veg, fruit and cereals are under threat from poor harvests. The warning comes as drought-hit dairy farmers produce millions fewer litres of milk, while crop growers have been hit by one of the driest summers on record. And there is a double blow for consumers because Britain cannot simply rely on imports to fill the gap.
Extreme heat and drought have also scorched large parts of mainland Europe, reducing harvests there and pushing up the cost of fresh produce shipped to UK supermarkets. The combination raises fears that food inflation could return after months of easing, with experts warning that shortages of some products are becoming increasingly likely if the dry weather continues.
British shoppers have seen this happen before. During previous supply crises, supermarkets including Tesco, Asda, Morrisons, Aldi and Lidl temporarily rationed sales of items such as tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and salad vegetables as supplies ran short.
The latest pressure is already feeding through to dairy prices. According to Farmers Weekly, tightening milk supplies caused by drought across much of England and Wales have triggered another round of farmgate price rises. Arla is increasing its August conventional milk price by 0.88p per litre after already raising prices by 1.32p in July, taking its headline manufacturing milk price to 38.15p per litre.
Barber’s Cheesemakers is also increasing payments to farmers, while Muller and First Milk have announced higher prices from September as supplies tighten. The National Farmers’ Union says the prolonged hot and dry weather has dramatically reduced grass growth, leaving dairy farmers with less grazing for cows and pushing up feed costs.
NFU Dairy Board chairman Ian Harvey said the conditions had “severely restricted grass growth and diminished pasture quality, with 18.5 million litres wiped off milk yields in recent weeks”.
He added: “While this sharp drop in volume has rightfully driven the spot milk price upward, we are continuing to witness an unacceptable disparity in farmgate returns.”
The dairy squeeze comes as Britain’s wider food production is also under intense strain. NFU president Tom Bradshaw warned this weekend that the UK could face shortages of some foods after months of drought, with farmers battling to salvage crops following an exceptionally dry summer.
England received just 8% of its average July rainfall, according to the Met Office, and much of the country has endured repeated heatwaves, with some areas going more than a month without significant rain. The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) says this year’s cereal harvest is the earliest since records began in 2006, with wheat and barley yields generally below the 10-year average.
Anthony Hopkins, the AHDB’s cereals and oilseeds director, said many farmers had been harvesting through the night to avoid the worst daytime temperatures, the Guardian reports.
He said yields had “generally been below the 10-year average so far, with some farms experiencing significant reductions”.
The concern for consumers is that overseas supplies may offer little relief. Much of southern Europe has also endured prolonged heatwaves and drought this summer, affecting fruit and vegetable production in countries that regularly supply British supermarkets.
That means imports are likely to be scarcer and more expensive just as UK growers are producing less, increasing the risk of higher prices on supermarket shelves. Farmers say the weather has exposed how vulnerable Britain’s food supply has become.
Mr Bradshaw said climate change meant countries that Britain traditionally relied on for imported fruit and vegetables were also facing worsening weather extremes.
“Those other countries around the world that we currently rely on to produce our food and vegetables, their climates are changing as well,” he told the BBC.
“It does feel like there is going be some shortages of food products.”
With more than 23 million people across England and Wales already living under hosepipe bans and further hot weather forecast this week, farming leaders say the pressure on crops, livestock and food production is far from over.
