Food Prices to rise as Weather Worsens
Research from Oxfam has revealed that extreme weather conditions caused by climate change are likely to raise food prices, as crop yields across the world are damaged.
It is claimed by the charity that the implications climate change is having on the future of food prices is being widely underestimated, and has warned that worldwide communities are likely to become more vulnerable to events such as the droughts in West Africa and the USA throughout 2012.
The report from Oxfam has claimed that in the event of a drought in the USA in 2030, the price of maize would be raised by 140pc over and above the average price of food, which would already likely be around double today’s prices.
Higher than average rainfall within the UK over the summer months meant that harvests of potatoes were damaged, and this meant that supermarkets and retailers were forced to raise the prices of products containing the vegetable. However the report warns that while weather at home can cause food prices to rise, due to the amount we import in the UK, it is more extreme weather across the globe that can have larger effects on prices at home.
Climate change policy advisor at Oxfam, Tim Gore, said: “Rising temperatures and changing rainfall patterns hold back crop production, and can cause steady price rises. But extreme weather events like the current US drought can wipe out entire harvests and trigger dramatic food price rises”.
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