Crumbs! Crop crisis to push up price of bread

FROM sirloin steak to manuka honey, the finer things in life can make food shopping rather expensive.

And supermarkets could soon be unveiling price hikes for another ‘luxury’ item – bread.

Experts have warned that costs will, er, rise after the worst British wheat harvest in decades.

Usable crops are down by as much as 40 per cent following extreme rain and droughts. Flour millers already face price increases of 20 per cent – and a No Deal Brexit could make matters even worse.

Farmers have been hit by a weather triple-whammy over the past twelve months. An unusually wet autumn stopped them planting as much wheat as usual, and the sodden soil affected crops’ survival rates. This February was the wettest on record with storms wreaking havoc across the UK.

By contrast, spring was extremely dry with some areas facing droughts. Thirdly, after more deluges in August, many farmers have been forced to delay their harvests. Matt Culley, chairman of the National Farmers Union’s crops board, said of his Hampshire farm:

‘We’re looking at a 30 per cent reduction in our good fields.’ The picture in some of the ‘ poor fields’ is even bleaker.

He described this year’s harvest as the worst he’s had in 37 years working the land, telling the BBC that much of his wheat will now only be good enough for animal feed. The resultant rise in wheat prices has pushed up flour costs, which may eventually lead to a bigger bill at the supermarket till. The National Association of British and Irish Millers said wheat prices are already up by more than 20 per cent and, with its members operating on tight margins, most of the increase is passed on to buyers.

Around 85 per cent of wheat used for flour in the UK is grown in this country – meaning shortages have to be met with imports. However, failure to secure a trade deal with the EU could make this more difficult, more expensive, or both.