Britain faces ‘worst food security crisis in decades’ - as shoppers warned to brace for price rises
Wheat yields are down by around 14% this year, while oat production has fallen by at least 9%.
Britain is facing its worst food security challenge in decades as drought and repeated heatwaves threaten to devastate harvests and drive up supermarket prices, analysts have warned.
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Nearly three-quarters of England is now officially in drought following a record-breaking spell of hot, dry weather.
The drought covers 71% of the country, leaving more than 27 million people living under hosepipe bans.
Investment bank Shore Capital said soaring temperatures were damaging wheat yields, vegetable crops and milk production - increasing Britain’s reliance on food imported from overseas.
Analysts Akhil Patel and Clive Black warned that lower domestic production could push up the price of imported grain and animal feed, with those costs ultimately passed on to consumers.
“The UK has not been so close to a food security challenge for many decades,” they said.
Read more: Sales of cool clothes and garden accessories soar as heat dominates spending
Wheat yields are down by around 14% this year, while oat production has fallen by at least 9%.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has warned a continued drought could lead to shortages of some food products.
Alistair Carmichael, chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee, said the impact on farmers would soon hit shoppers.
“The problem for farmers today will be the problems for consumers in six or 12 months’ time,” he said.
“You see massively decreased yields for wheat and barley, and increasingly concerned voices coming from vegetable producers as well.”
Shore Capital has warned food inflation could rise to 5% in the coming months, up from 1.7%.
The analysts called for a 25-year Government strategy to strengthen food security, including greater self-sufficiency in water and energy.
They also warned that Britain may not be able to rely on imports if droughts, wildfires and extreme weather damage crops abroad.
Food production in France and Spain has already been hit by drought and wildfires, while a possible El Niño weather event could affect global harvests and shipping routes.
The Bank of England has previously warned that rising food prices could fuel wider inflation - and increase pressure for higher interest rates.
It comes after the Environment Agency announced that almost three-quarters of England is officially in "drought”, as the country prepares to swelter in its fifth heatwave of the summer later this week.
The dry start to August follows the country’s driest July on record, it said.
Four more areas of England have moved into drought status, with 71.3% of the country now experiencing “flash drought” in the wake of very low rainfall and higher temperatures, the Environment Agency said.