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Date Published: 19/04/2023

ARCHIVED - Spanish government warns that current water shortages could affect the price of food

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Rising grocery costs have already resulted in households across Spain drastically reducing their food budgets

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spanish government warns that current water shortages could affect the price of food

Spain has hesitantly begun to see the light at the end of the tunnel as production and raw material costs begin to fall, but this drop has yet to be transferred to the price of food, which continues to soar despite VAT cuts. Now, with the reservoirs drying up and little rain on the horizon, the government has warned that grocery costs could climb even higher.

"It is a time of great uncertainty, we have to assess the impact of the drought that is beginning to have its effects on production," acknowledged the Secretary General of Agriculture, Fernando Miranda, this week.

Farmers have already upped their irrigation to combat the lack of rain, but as the skies remain dry, drought alerts and water restrictions are surely just around the corner. As crops wither, harvests will be down, cranking up the prices as demand exceeds supply.

Even before the temperatures began to climb, the situation wasn’t looking good: grocery costs increased 16.6% in February and 16.5% in March and the financial uncertainty in Spain has resulted in households up and down the country drastically reducing their annual food budget.

The Fiab Economic Report, which was presented to the government on Tuesday April 18, shows that the average spending per person fell by 1.8% last year, to 1,427 euros annually. That’s 21 euros less than in 2021 and the experts blame this reduction on rising food prices and interest rates, which has forced families to alter their budget priorities.

"The consumption of food and beverages has been directly impacted by the increase in the CPI in 2022," the report stresses.

This April, the amount of rainfall is far less than the same month last year, which was already dismal, and the experts warn that if the drought continues at this rate, food prices are almost sure to climb.

In other news: Primark launches UK-style website in Spain

Image: Archive

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