France is recording a “historic” drought in the words of Elisabeth Borne. And this has consequences on food, since it undermines several crops. A phenomenon that adds to the war in Ukraine, already responsible for the absence of certain products on the shelves of our supermarkets, such as mustard or sunflower oil.
In the coming months, several products could be missing. We take stock.
Milk
This Friday on France info, the president of the economic committee of the National Federation of Farmers’ Unions (FNSEA) warned of a possible “shortage of milk in the coming months”. In question ? The absence of food for the animals of the meadows, linked to the dryness of the soil. “To make milk, you need fodder, mainly alfalfa and corn, which have grown little this year,” said Yannick Fialip, president of the FNSEA’s economic commission. The FNSEA says it is “very worried about the ability of many breeders to be able to feed their herds throughout the 2022-2023 winter”.
Potatoes
Potatoes are very sensitive to water stress. The drier the soil, the faster the plant will stop growing. The risk ? Ending up with smaller potatoes. “Such significant temperature shocks, and repeatedly, raise legitimate concern about the volume of production, both in quality and quantity”, raises the president of the National Union of Potato Producers, Geoffroy d’Evry, on West France.
However, potatoes are mainly produced in Brittany and in the north of France, areas less sensitive to drought, which could make it possible to avoid a major shortage. “We are certainly in a climatic configuration which is not optimal, but we must not be unduly alarmed”, estimates in Ouest-France Christian Huyghe, scientific director Agriculture of the National Institute of Research for Agriculture, food and the environment.
Foie gras
This is not a consequence of the drought, nor of the war in Ukraine, but of the bird flu epizootic this winter. Nearly 20 million poultry had to be slaughtered in France because of the disease. This leads to a shortage of mule ducklings, which could disrupt our end-of-year celebrations and the presence of foie gras on our plates. The Interprofessional Committee for Palmipeds with Foie Gras is considering a return to normal for… the second quarter of 2023.
Chickpea
If you are a hummus lover, beware. The prices of your favorite food may well rise due to an upcoming chickpea shortage. A shortage directly attributable to the war in Ukraine, since Russia and Ukraine are the main producers of this legume. Chickpea production is expected to decline by 20% this year.