Due to the drought and the lack of water, fruits and vegetables come out smaller than usual and will cost more at the start of the school year.
Global warming affects our wallet. The exceptional drought that has been raging in France since the beginning of the summer and the water restrictions in certain regions are greatly weakening the fruit and vegetable productionreports the Parisian. “We have between 30 and 35% loss in fields on average“, is indignant with the daily Jacques Rouchaussé, president of the vegetable producers. “Faced with a long drought, like the one we are experiencing, we have little means to act“.
The fruits and vegetables suffer from water stress (when the demand for water is greater than the available resources) and come out smaller than usual. Especially in regions used to having rain and therefore not equipped to deal with this kind of disappointment. “There won’t be a shortage (…), but there will be fewer vegetables, that’s for sure. We have to rediscover seasonality, we cannot have tomatoes all year round. The consumer must also be sober” assures Jacques Rouchaussé. This phenomenon will lead to an increase in prices at the start of the school year.
Lower quality and more expensive fruits and vegetables
Already in July, the consumer association Rural families argued that the price of fruit and vegetables had increased by 11% compared to last year, ” which is twice as high as inflation, which is already very high”, noted the association. According to his data, the average price of a fruit basket increased by 8% when that of vegetables increased by 15%. In organic, the price of fruit increased by 4% and that of vegetables fell by 3%.
The price of watermelon, for example, jumped 40% in one year. As well as that of pepper (+ 37%), peach (+ 25%), vine tomato (+ 31%) or green beans (+ 21%). “The year 2022 will not mark the beginning of a fall in the price of fruit, whether conventional or organicspecified Rural families. The cause is essentially due to the inflationary shock also suffered by producers, which has led to a sharp increase in production and packaging costs. Add to that the drought and the lack of water, and the French will buy more expensive fruits and vegetables that are smaller and of lower quality.