Climate change is causing a sharp rise in food prices worldwide – research

Extreme weather events caused by climate change are becoming the main cause of short-term spikes in food prices around the world. This is according to a new study conducted at the Barcelona Supercomputer Center, writes Financial Times.

Scientists have found a direct link between weather anomalies, such as droughts or floods, and the sharp rise in the price of certain food products.

For example, in Europe, the price of olive oil increased by 50% due to the drought in Spain in 2022-2023. In India, a heat wave in May last year caused onion prices to rise by 89%.

Due to the summer heat, cabbage went up by 70% in South Korea, rice went up by almost 50% in Japan, and vegetable prices in China rose by 30%.

In the U.S. states of California and Arizona, vegetables rose by 80% in November 2022 after prolonged droughts.

According to the study's lead author, Maximilian Kotz, many of these weather events were "completely unprecedented from a historical perspective" and could hardly have happened in a stable climate without the influence of greenhouse emissions.

Extreme weather events tend to cause spikes in food prices several months after the event. Researchers warn that such situations will become more frequent due to climate change.

High food prices caused by weather-related disasters spread rapidly around the world thanks to global trade. For example, in the UK, chocolate prices have risen due to a threefold increase in the cost of cocoa after droughts in Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire.

According to experts, the situation is further aggravated by market speculation and poor political decisions. For example, in 2010, after heat waves and fires, Russia stopped exporting wheat, which caused a global price spike and even food riots in Mozambique.

Import-dependent countries, such as the UK, are vulnerable to such fluctuations. But price hikes hit poorer households the hardest, forcing them to save on food.

• On June 5, it became known that the National Bank recognized that food prices in Ukraine have approached world market levels therefore, he does not expect that the loss of part of the harvest due to frost will have a significant impact on food inflation.