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The successive bad winter and summer drought of the past year will add to consumer food price for months to come, according to a forecast published this Monday by the British-based Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR).
"Though coping with the vagaries of weather is something that farmers are well accustomed to, the extreme weather seen this year has put particular stress on farming costs and yields," the analysts wrote.
Carrot price up 80%
In the UK, which has suffered from weather conditions similar to Ireland, CEBR noted that farmgate prices rose sharply between March and July for onions (+41%), carrots (+80%), lettuce (+61%), wheat for bread (+20%) and strawberries (+28%).
Meanwhile, falling milk output triggered a 24% hike in wholesale butter prices.
"Wheat, which features heavily in European and British shopping baskets, is a concern" as the drought hit key European producing regions, they added.
"The DEFRA research suggests that commodity price spikes can take 18 months to fully feed through into inflation. So, while the worst of heat may have passed, the cost to consumers looks set to climb," the forecasts concludes.
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