Extreme weather patterns and events resulting from climate change are causing the prices of food products, such as coffee, cocoa and rice, to rise in various countries and regions around the world, according to a report released on Thursday, citing a recently published study.
The increase in temperature and extreme weather events, such as floods and storms, caused by climate change, also affect agricultural activities and threaten food security.
In July, scientists from various research institutes in Europe conducted a study titled "Climate extremes, food price spikes and their wider societal risks."
In the study, which examined the impact of climate change on food prices, scientists compiled reports highlighting the rise in food prices across different countries due to climate extremes.
According to the study, agricultural products affected by climate change vary according to their geographical location.
The severe droughts experienced in Southern Europe during 2022-2023 led to a 50% increase in olive oil prices across the European Union as of January 2024. Moreover, at the beginning of 2024 in the U.K., potato prices rose by 22% due to rainy weather conditions.
In East Asia, the heat waves in 2024 led to extreme temperatures in almost all of South Korea and Japan, as well as large areas of China and India. These extreme weather events increased the price of Korean cabbage by 70% in September 2024 compared to the same month the previous year. Japanese rice also rose by 48% during the same period. Additionally, vegetable prices in China increased by 30% in June and August.
In Vietnam, after the heat wave in February 2024, robusta coffee prices doubled by July. Similarly, in Indonesia, following the drought in 2023, rice prices increased by 16%.
And in Pakistan, food prices in rural areas rose by 50% within weeks following the devastating floods in August 2022. In neighboring India, following the heat wave in May 2024, onion and potato prices surged in the second quarter of the year. During this period, onion prices increased by 89% and potato prices by 81%.
In Australia, the floods in 2022 caused lettuce prices to rise. During this period, lettuce prices increased by staggering 300%.
After the heat wave in March 2024 in South Africa, corn prices rose by 36% in April. The 2022 drought in Ethiopia also had an adverse impact on food prices. Following the drought, food prices increased by 40% in March 2023.
At the same time, back in 2022, drought in the American states of California and Arizona, which provide over 40% of the national vegetable production, severely affected vegetable production. As of November 2022, vegetable prices in the U.S. increased by 80% in one year.
Following the 2023 drought in Mexico, there was a 20% increase in fruit and vegetable prices at the beginning of the following year.
Climate extremes not only caused price increases locally but also increased the global market prices of major food commodities such as coffee and cocoa.
The 2023 drought in Brazil, the world's largest coffee producer, led to price increases. Global coffee prices rose by 55% in August 2024.
In Ghana and Ivory Coast, which account for about 60% of global cocoa production, extreme heat in February 2024 and ongoing prolonged drought from the previous year affected global cocoa prices. Cocoa prices increased by about 300% in one year as of April 2024.
Affecting numerous crops and spreading globally, the climate-induced surge in food prices can trigger various societal risks.
Increasing food prices, particularly for low-income households, significantly affects their food security. Such households may become less resistant to diseases due to inadequate nutrition, adding additional burdens to the health care system and increasing public expenditures.
Moreover, increases in food prices lead to a rise in overall inflation, posing significant risks for developing countries where the share of food prices in inflation is high.
