A number of pressures have converged on food production over the past year, and their effects are likely to show up in our shopping baskets this winter. Farmers have faced increasingly erratic weather, influenced by climate change and the El Niño phenomenon, while international conflicts have pushed up the cost of fuel, fertiliser and other essential inputs.
These pressures compound one another: adverse and unpredictable weather reduces crop yields, while higher fertiliser and energy costs make it more expensive to produce and process food.
