The family economy and the basic shopping basket are suffering this summer from the consequences of extreme weather. Olive oil, watermelon, melon, stone fruit, cereal, milk... suffer an unusual increase in prices and some scenes of shortages. The lack of rain (44% of the water is dammed up and, according to Copernicus, the EU Earth Observation Program, Spain shares the red alert with northern Morocco and Algeria), the hailstorms at the end of spring and the high temperatures, with increasingly frequent and harsh heat waves, are having a direct impact on the supply and quality of the products that reach refrigerators and dispensaries. Climate change is leaving its mark on agriculture and livestock and, therefore, the final consumer.
You have probably gone to your supermarket in recent days and have not found watermelon or melon. He has an explanation: the torrential rains and hail in recent months. The stones destroyed the first crops in Murcia. Farmers had to replant, but torrential rain virtually ruined the second crop. Therefore, at this time the supply is not normalized. Over the next few days, samples of the Castilla-La Mancha harvest will begin to arrive at the stores, which will normalize the situation, explains one of the large food companies.
A good part of the agri-food chain is exposed to extreme weather conditions. The problem is that these adverse phenomena are becoming more common. One of the most affected autonomous communities is Catalonia, its interior, specifically, where stone fruit is grown. The Association of Young Farmers (Asaja) has an observatory to find out about the situation of peach, apricot, plum and cherry. Yes, it is true that for this year they foresee a recovery, without counting nectarines, of production of 22% compared to 2022, up to 1.1 million tons. The problem is that this figure is 5% below the last five years. It's not going to be a bad crop for stone fruit but it could have been so much better. And this has been influenced by heat waves. The end of the mild winter and the warm spring, says Asaja, caused proper flowering and fruit set, but the prolonged drought, especially in the Ebro valley, caused the first problems. With lack of irrigation and high temperatures, ripening was advanced and the fruit has not developed. The sector, therefore, finds itself with a problem of caliber. Less is being sold and that is raising prices.
Olive oil, considered liquid gold produced in Spain, is also on red alert at record prices. The reason? The drought. The absence of rain, more pressing in the basins of the south of the country, the late frosts and the heat in flowering. The olive does not set as it should and the tree is damaged. Those that have been felled will take two years to recover.
Spain is the world's largest producer of olive oil. Product appreciated in a large number of countries, the extra virgin, the jewel in the crown, is in historical quotas. Last Friday, according to the "poolred" reference system, its price was 7,615 euros per kilo. During June and July it is experiencing an escalation that producers do not know when it will stop. Manuel Lillo is a farmer who is dedicated to the olive grove in the province of Jaén. He says that in 2020 he sold his oil at 2.40 euros per liter. “How far is this going to go?” he wonders. Spain could produce 750,000 tons of olive oil when only Spain consumes more than one million. This situation is leading farmers and ranchers to an extreme situation. The Andalusian Lillo is blunt: "I see photovoltaics very well, but we are becoming more and more and people have to eat." The scenes of Alcarràs, the film by Carla Simón, are repeated throughout Spain. The fight of field professionals against renewables, farmers who fight for their land in the face of the proliferation of solar panels. The olive grower believes that the field is experiencing a "borderline situation".
The cereal situation does not invite optimism either. The problem is repeated: the lack of rain harms the 2023 harvest. According to forecasts by the farmers' organization, autumn-winter cereal production will be 5 million tons, far from the more than 15 million last year. It will mean a decrease of more than 67%. The consequence is that the prices of wheat, barley, oats or rye will rise.
Another staple food that is going through a 2023 to the limit is milk. According to data from the Ministry of Agriculture compiled by Asaja, the price of milk from cattle has increased by 19% in interannual terms. In July 2022, a liter of milk was sold at 44 cents per liter, this July it is being sold for almost 53 cents per liter. The same thing happens with eggs. In the Bellpuig market, in Lleida, the dozen was quoted this week at 2.35 euros. The price multiplies on the shelves of Mercadona and Día up to 3 euros, indicates Asaja. Live lamb, for its part, was quoted at the Salamanca market at 5.75 euros per kilo, 20 cents more than last week.
The prices of a large part of basic foods, in short, are growing due to the effects of climate change. And the consumer already perceives it. In the distribution the alarms have also been turned on. "We are working together with the producer sector so that the consumer notices as little as possible the impact of weather anomalies derived from heat, drought and heavy rains suffered by farmers," explains Felipe Medina, technical general secretary of Asedas. Another business organization, Anged, draws attention to the impact of drought and heat on oil and cereals. "There are some productions that had a very bad winter and the harvest has been affected." Prices rise and inflation rises.
