The average household will pay £37.41 more for food each month by December next year, a rise of about 12 per cent, because of the impact of the drought on crops, according to the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
There should be little impact in the near term, said Pushpin Singh, who wrote the economics consultancy’s report and who added that, “given the long timelines in growing and harvesting crops, it is likely that a drought-associated squeeze in supply will be witnessed next year”.
Hot weather reduces farmers’ abilities to maintain crops and to plant new ones and means that, with grass less available, they are using winter stores of feed for livestock. This adds extra cost in the winter when they have to replenish their supplies.