A team of international scientists believe extreme weather events taking place between 2022 and 2024 have contributed to increased product prices in many farming industries, including coffee.
The research was published by six European research organisations, including the Barcelona Supercomputer Centre, alongside the European Central Bank. The results of the research will be discussed at the United Nations Food Systems Summit, co-hosted by Ethiopia and Italy in Addis Ababa from 27 to 29 July.
Within the study, the scientists have demonstrated a link between price increases in the global coffee industry and extreme weather events. Following the drought experienced in Brazil in 2023, which the scientists say was made 10 to 30 times more likely due to climate change, global coffee prices experienced a 55 per cent increase in 2024. They also used 2024’s record-breaking heatwave in Vietnam as an example.
“Until we get to net zero emissions extreme weather will only get worse, but it’s already damaging crops and pushing up the price of food all over the world,” says Maximillian Kotz, Marie-Curie Post-Doctoral Fellow at Barcelona Supercomputer Centre and Lead Author of the study.
“People are noticing, with rising food prices number two on the list of climate impacts they see in their lives, second only to extreme heat itself.
“Sadly, when the price of food shoots up, low-income families often have to resort to less nutritious, cheaper foods. Diets like this have been linked to a range of health conditions like cancer, diabetes and heart disease.”
The study also found British potatoes, Californian vegetables, South African maize, and Indian onions were impacted by recent price rises caused by weather extremes.
