Global food prices soar due to climate change

Global food prices soar due to climate change

After galloping up last year, global food prices are forecasted to remain unchanged. at high levels this year as supply shortages due to climate change cause extreme weather events, causing crop yields to drop. Experts warn that crop damage caused by climate change can lead to a race to hoard food and limit export measures by countries around the world.

Historical drought in Canada in mid-2021 has affected the yield of crops and more than doubled the price of beans. Photo: Producer

Extreme weather events in 2021 have caused prices of agricultural commodities to increase spikes and is expected to remain high this year due to unusual climatic conditions that damage crops leading to prolonged supply shortages.

Price of commodities Commodities including Brazilian coffee, Belgian potatoes and Canadian golden peas surged last year due to extreme temperatures and flooding. Scientists warn that these situations will become more frequent and severe as the impacts of climate change become more severe.

Logistics and logistics problems Changes in consumption habits due to the pandemic also caused prices of essential agricultural commodities such as sugar and wheat to rise last year.

Report of the Stockholm Environment Institute ( Sweden) said: “Agriculture is one of the sectors most at risk from both extreme weather events alone and changes in long-term climate patterns.” The report says the risks posed by climate are many times greater than the opportunities it creates for agriculture. A series of extreme weather events occurred around the world in mid-2021, damaging many crops, causing food prices to rise rapidly.

Severe frost The impact in Brazil last July had a negative impact on the country’s coffee belt, sending arabica coffee prices to their highest levels in nearly seven years. Global supply chain disruptions and lack of container ships will also lead to higher food prices by the end of 2021.

The weather in Brazil continues to be unusually volatile, making food prices worse. raised concerns about the risk of further damage to crops. The La Nina weather phenomenon will continue to occur in late 2021 and is expected to cause extreme weather events including heavy rain and dryness around the world.

Mario Zappacosta, senior economist at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said: “Knowing that La Nina will continue to hit this year, we could see food prices reacting soon, even before it actually happened.” That could lead to a “contagion effect,” he said, as prices for food alternatives also rise.

Meanwhile, the heatwave and drought are unprecedented. availability in Canada in mid-2021 affects crop yields and causes the price of peas to more than double, affecting producers of plant-based “meat substitutes” that rely on this legume.

Belgian potato prices also surged after floods devastated large agricultural areas in Europe last summer.

A report by researchers at the Stockholm Environment Institute warns that climate change will have “a major global impact on agricultural production” and will reduce crop yields in certain areas. They estimate that in the last three decades of this century, global sugarcane production could decline by 59% compared with the 1980-2010 period, while global production of arabica coffee and corn could fall by 45% and respectively. 27%.

Magnus Benzie, one of the report’s authors, said: “This is a huge gap in our planning for climate adaptation.” . Lower food production and higher prices could cause food insecurity in import-dependent countries, make it less resilient to disasters and increase costs for consumers, he said. used around the world.

He added, how countries respond to extreme weather events and shortages of food supplies, even if they are stockpiling or impose trade restrictions, which could exacerbate food crises.

He said already occurring weather crises will happen frequently. as global warming, potentially exacerbating global food shortages.

According to Financial Times

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