UK shoppers have seen cucumbers rise in price and become curvier as the heatwave impacts growers abroad, an expert has warned.
Salad foods have been hit with shrinkflation in the UK as a summer of heatwaves and droughts has impacted farmers across Europe, impacting the yield and quality of produce. Meanwhile, the British farm industry has warned of its own struggle with crop yields after the driest July on record across England and Wales.
Experts have warned that the extreme weather could have direct impact on our supply of British produce and general prices of food, with cucumbers a prime indicator that food supplies are already being affected.
The wholesale price of home-grown cucumbers increased from 99p per kg in the week ending 11 May, right before the first heatwave, to £2.09 in the week ending 20 July, according to the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU).
One UK study suggested that a 10 per cent rise in wholesale fruit and vegetable prices could translate into an increase of around 1–2 per cent at the checkout, with the level of pass-through varying between crops and over time.
“Because we were so dependent on this one producer country, what we saw was prices skyrocketed for cucumbers,” Christian Jaccarini, economist of food and farming for ECIU told The Independent. “There’s other concerns around tomatoes, lettuce and peppers. Many of the salad vegetables are being impacted at the moment.”
Around 80 per cent of cucumbers are imported from Europe, with Spain and the Netherlands as our main importers. Both nations were impacted by the extreme temperatures, with Spain even seeing wildfires just weeks ago.
“In Spain there was extreme heat which caused flowers to abort and plants to fail, which reduced yields and contributed to shortages,” Mr Jaccarini said. “In the Netherlands, it was less extreme, but they reported quality issues, so there was consistent issues around the fruit being curved.
“So cucumbers [became] curved, and that’s because the higher temperatures reduce the plant’s ability to transport water from the roots to the fruit.”
The ECIU estimated that the UK imported almost half (44 per cent) of the vegetables consumed last year and over 80 per cent of consumed fruit.
“There’s real concern around whether we’re going to be able to meet our nutritional security as climate extremes continue to worsen, if we’re relying on vulnerable supply chains abroad but also an increasingly extreme climate at home.”
Andrew Opie, director of food and sustainability policy at the British Retail Consortium, said: “Climate change continues to create challenges for retailers and their suppliers. Extreme weather, including drought, can affect crop yields and place upward pressure on prices. Retailers are experienced in managing supply disruptions and will take all necessary steps, including sourcing from alternative suppliers where appropriate, to minimise any impact on customers.”
Mr Jaccarini added that while the UK may not see shortages, more severe prices might rise as reduced yields are rationed amongst consumers.
“That’s obviously really concerning because we know that lower income households experience food price inflation,” he said. “It impacts their ability to access food much more severely than it does more affluent households.”
The summer of extreme weather has seen two record-breaking heatwaves, in May and June, that led to more than 2,800 excess deaths, and two more heatwaves in July which has fuelled drought and wildfires.
The whole of Wales and half of England plunged into drought as farming leaders have warned it is “one of the most severe droughts many farmers and growers have lived through”, with poor yields, struggles to access water for fruit and vegetables and livestock keepers using winter feed for their animals.
A Defra spokesperson said: “The UK has a highly resilient food system, drawing on both strong domestic production and international trade, and we do not expect the dry weather to have any impact on national food security.
“Supermarkets are already acting to increase supplies of home-grown cucumbers, along with peppers and tomatoes, from UK producers and extending domestic production beyond the summer season using glasshouse technology to help to ensure a steady supply of salad essentials and support British grown salad crops.
“Alongside this, we are building stronger, more resilient food supply chains to protect Britain from potential disruptions while also taking a range of actions to keep prices down for households, including the cost of the weekly shop.”
