Climate Change Sparks Surge in Global Food Prices
(MENAFN) Global food prices are surging sharply as extreme weather events linked to climate change disrupt crop production worldwide. A recent study by European researchers, titled “Climate extremes, food price spikes, and their wider societal risks,” highlights how floods, storms, and heat waves have pushed prices of staples like coffee, cocoa, and rice to alarming highs in multiple countries.
The study reveals that the impact varies by region and crop. In southern Europe, severe drought between 2022 and 2023 caused olive oil prices to jump 50% across the EU by January 2024. Meanwhile, heavy rainfall led to a 22% increase in UK potato prices earlier this year.
Heat waves in East Asia hit cabbage markets hard, with prices rising 70% in September 2024 overall, including a 48% spike in Japan and a 30% rise in China during the summer months. Vietnam’s robusta coffee prices doubled in July 2024 after a heat wave in February, while drought conditions in Indonesia pushed rice prices up by 16% in 2023.
In Pakistan, rural food prices surged 50% in August 2022 following devastating floods. Similarly, India faced dramatic price hikes during a May 2024 heat wave, with onion prices soaring 89% and potatoes rising 81% in the year's second quarter.
Australia saw lettuce prices skyrocket 300% after 2022 floods, and South African corn prices jumped 36% amid March 2024 heat waves. Ethiopia’s 2022 drought triggered a 40% rise in food prices in 2023, while California and Arizona—key U.S. vegetable producers—experienced an 80% spike in vegetable costs by late 2022 due to drought.
Mexico’s 2023 drought caused fruit and vegetable prices to climb 20% since early 2024. On a global scale, Brazil’s 2023 drought boosted coffee prices by 55% as of August 2024. Cocoa prices nearly tripled in April 2024 after extreme heat and drought struck Ghana and Ivory Coast—together responsible for about 60% of the world’s cocoa production.
The researchers warn that these food price surges driven by climate extremes threaten food security, especially for low-income populations, increasing their vulnerability to disease and intensifying pressure on healthcare systems and public budgets.
Increasing food prices can drive overall inflation, threatening developing countries where food costs make up a large share of inflation.
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