Commenting on the news that inflation for food and non-alcoholic beverages stood at 4.5% in September, Chris Jaccarini, food and farming analyst at the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) said: “Food price inflation remained above the headline rate, as the impacts of extreme weather at home and abroad continue to feed through to consumers. UK farmers faced one of the worst harvests ever this year [1], following the hottest summer and spring on record. Although weather is only part of the story, climate change is playing a clear role and farmers are worried [2].
“Europe is the fastest warming continent [3], and climate-impacted foods are responsible for around 40% of food price inflation [4], pushing up all our food bills. Extreme weather has driven up the cost of British staples like milk and butter, as well as imports such as coffee, cocoa and olive oil.
“Climate change poses a systemic threat to our health, living standards and food security. Central banks may be tasked with controlling inflation, but they can’t avoid climate-driven food price spikes — only cutting emissions to net zero and restoring climate balance can.”
Today’s figures come a day after new analysis from the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) showed that the price of foods hit by extreme weather are rising over four times faster than others in the average shop. The analysis finds that although these items – butter, beef, milk, coffee and chocolate- make up just 11% of the average shopping basket, they account for nearly 40% of all food price inflation [4]. These items remained the food types with the highest rate of inflation in September, as climate shocks continue to reduce discretionary income.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
1. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/england-has-second-worst-harvest-on-record-comment
2. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/farmer-confidence-battered-by-climate-change-new-research
3. https://wmo.int/news/media-centre/european-state-of-climate-extreme-events-warmest-year-record
4. https://eciu.net/media/press-releases/2025/why-food-prices-are-still-rising-butter-beef-and-milk-to-blame
For more information or for interview requests:
George Smeeton, Head of Communications, ECIU, Tel: 07894 571 153, email: george.smeeton@eciu.net
