Rising food prices raise fears of a ‘hidden hunger epidemic’

Poor harvests and rising food prices caused by this year’s washout weather could become a regular occurrence as a Yorkshire climate expert warns more cool wet summers may be on their way.

Wheat yields fell 14.1 per cent this year after record rainfall in June, July and August, according a survey of National Farmers’ Union (NFU) arable members.

Its results were released as the findings of a study linking the loss of Arctic sea ice with shifting summer wind patterns and increasingly unseasonable and extreme weather were announced by researchers at the University of Sheffield.

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Dr Edward Hanna, of the university’s geography department, said: “It’s virtually impossible to predict the weather for any particular summer, but we could have cooler, wetter summers on average in the UK because of this effect. That’s not to say we won’t get hot, dry summers but these might not be as frequent as you might expect from a straightforward global warming effect.”

Wheat yields across the UK this year were at their lowest levels since the late 1980s, down from 7.8 to 6.7 tonnes per hectare. Spring barley was also down 7.4 per cent on a five-year average.

James Copeland, NFU regional food and farming advisor, said the situation in Yorkshire reflected the national picture.

“It’s very much down to the unprecedented weather this year, and not just the wet weather but also the lack of sunshine that’s needed to ripen the crops. Farmers have had to deal with the unpredictability of Mother Nature,” he said.

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Guy Gagen, NFU chief combinable crops adviser, said the poor UK cereal harvest would compound existing global food price pressures from the worst drought in 50 years in the US and a heatwave in Russia.

“These results will do little to alleviate the global dynamics of commodity prices, with the prospect of relatively high commodity levels through to 2013,” he said.

“Cereals prices impact directly on other sectors, especially pig and poultry farmers who are already struggling with higher feed costs.”

The British Retail Consortium said wheat prices were up around 29 per cent compared with a year ago but shop price inflation for food had remained stable at 3.1 per cent for the last three months – a two-year low.

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Spokesman Richard Dodd said: “There is no food price explosion going on but there are pressures in the system that will work through.

“Our fiercely competitive retail market is protecting customers from the worst effects of these price pressures.”

Shadow Environment Secretary Mary Creagh warned, however, the nation now faced “an epidemic of hidden hunger” as rising food prices, stagnant wages and the double-dip recession created “a perfect storm”.

“Being able to feed yourself properly is fundamental to people yet Government figures show that people on lower incomes are buying and consuming less than five years ago as fruit, milk, cheese and egg prices are up by 30 per cent,” she said.

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The Wakefield Labour MP said it was a “national scandal” for inhabitants of the world’s seventh richest nation, particularly children, to be going hungry.

She also criticised Defra, claiming Labour’s national food strategy had been left “gathering dust on ministers’ bookshelves”.

“On food waste, on food to landfill, on food poverty, Defra ministers simply have nothing to say,” she said.

Defra said it was in close contact with the G20 group to keep global grain prices under review but it was important to avoid short-term measures which would make the situation worse.

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“The Government relaxed some restrictions to minimise the disruption in the recent wet weather,” a spokeswoman said.

“We’re also supporting farmers in a number of ways to help them become as resilient and profitable as possible. This includes cutting unnecessary burdens and red tape, opening up new food export markets such as the recent £50m deal to sell British pork to China, and fighting for reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.”

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