A warning has been issued over key supermarket staples (Image: Getty)
Supermarket shoppers are being warned to expect price rises on key staple foods such as carrots, potatoes and onions.
The ongoing heatwave, the fourth of this summer, has now entered drought status for half of England, leading to a wave of hosepipe bans.
But on Wednesday, experts warned that the ‘real damage’ is not to brown lawns and empty water butts in gardens, but the impact on British farming.
Crops are struggling, farmers are worried, and shoppers could soon be paying the price for a summer with barely any rain, say experts.
Molly Monks, an insolvency expert at Parker Walsh, has warned that the drought isn’t just a headache for farmers, but a genuine financial risk that could push already-struggling food businesses over the edge.
If the dry weather persists, shoppers should expect to see some staples become harder to find on the shop floor, and as a result, an increase in price.
Molly said: “Produce such as carrots, onions, and potatoes will likely be hit the hardest due to dry soil shrinking crop sizes, while leeks, cabbage and cauliflower could also become harder to find.”
Salad crops such as lettuce may also face a price hike, as they could be replaced by pricier imports due to the heavy irrigation required.
Cupboard essentials such as bread, pasta, and cereal could be affected too, as wheat and barley crops come under heat stress.
“What people don’t always realise is how far a shortage travels down the supply chain,” Molly explained. “It’s not just the farmer who feels it, it’s the wholesaler, the local greengrocer, the small bakery. If one link can’t get stock at a price that works, insolvencies can ripple right along that chain.
“When margins are already this tight, a bad harvest can be the difference between a farm or supplier surviving the year or not.
“Poor growing seasons tend to put real pressure on cashflow in the months that follow, as contracts become harder to fulfil and costs rise faster than income.”
The warning comes as UK food prices are on track to be 50% higher by November 2026 than at the start of the cost-of-living crisis in 2021, according to research from the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), with staples including pasta, frozen vegetables, eggs, and beef all seeing steep rises.
Molly said: “Consumers should expect this to exacerbate an already difficult economic situation.
“Where supply drops, and demand stays the same, prices rise. But it also increases the risk of business failures among smaller food producers and retailers who can’t absorb the extra cost.”
Last week, the Environment Agency (EA) warned that the weather is already impacting water supplies and food production.
Not just the sunshine and lack of rain, but wildfires have also ‘ripped through’ farmland, while ponds and wetlands have dried out.
It said that farmers have begun harvests early and warned that cereal yields will be ‘lower than expected’, which could push prices up.
The EA reported: “The recent extreme weather is having a severe impact on our environment and affecting water supplies and food production, the National Drought Group heard yesterday.
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“Wildfires have ripped through several areas, including dozens of delicate protected sites, and prime agricultural land. The third heatwave of the year has seen ponds and wetlands dry out, which will impact bird breeding, while some rivers have dried up in places.
“A lack of July rainfall, combined with the heat, is also putting pressure on public supplies – with demand for water soaring up to 30% on the hottest days.”
It added: “Farmers have had to begin their harvests early, with warnings that cereal yields will be lower than expected.”