“Do you know what breakfast cereal is made of? It's made of all those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners!” – Roald Dahl
We spoke recently about the impact the coldest spring for 50
years has had on our supply chain.
The met office revealed the average temperature from March
to May was just 43F.
We had to re-evaluate the price we charged for our products
due to our oatmeal prices rising 50%, our beef dripping by 75% an muntok white
pepper, which soared by an incredible 350%.
Further news arose this week of the effects it’s having on
food production as a whole.
Britain is expected to import nearly 2.5 million tonnes of
wheat this year to cover the shortfall.
But it’s not just wheat that has suffered. Oilseed rape and
oats have suffered along with sugar beet that has been hit by a mystery
condition that has stopped seeds germinating and has reduced production by 50%
in some areas.
The British Agriculture Bureau earlier this year revealed
flooding had caused £1.3bn of damage in 2012.
Thankfully it’s not doom and gloom for everyone. Britain
biggest strawberry grower Harry Hall predicts the long winter will make for a succulent
soft fruit crop.
At the moment food prices don’t look likely to be affected
too much. But Weetabix did have to stop production of some of its breakfast
cereals as a result of the disastrous wheat harvest in April.
If the extreme weather caused a surge in prices, what would
be the first food you would cross off your weekly shopping list? Have you
noticed a lack of any products in your supermarkets from this time last year?
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