The ongoing hot summer and drought conditions could lead to higher food prices, with experts warning that many families have already exhausted their budgeting options amid the cost of living crisis.
Potential price increases
Lower grain yields could increase the price of bread, breakfast cereals, and pasta. Higher feed costs for livestock could raise prices for meat products, eggs, and dairy such as milk and butter.
Sebrina McCullough, external relations director at debt support group Money Wellness, said: "People tend to think drought is something that affects farmers, but it eventually reaches supermarket shelves too. If harvests are poor, there's less home-grown produce available and production costs rise. Fresh fruit and vegetables are often the first things people think about, but the impact can spread much further."
Impact on struggling households
The team at Money Wellness warn the real danger is not necessarily how much prices go up, but the fact many struggling families can't take much more.
Ms McCullough said: "The concern isn't whether food prices rise by 2 per cent or 5 per cent. It's that households are being asked to absorb yet another increase when they're already paying far more than they were before the cost of living crisis. Over the past three years, millions of households have exhausted all their options when it comes to cutting back."
She warned that even a "modest" price increase can have a much bigger impact than people expect. The expert said: "Last year alone, we made more than 55,000 food bank referrals - nearly double that of 2024. Increasingly, we're seeing people in full-time work who are doing everything right but whose income still isn't covering the essentials. That's why any fresh pressure on food prices is such a concern."
