Wet autumn followed by cold spring has led to one of the smallest harvests in a generation, hitting food production.
The wettest autumn since records began,followed by the coldest spring in 50 years,has devastated British wheat, forcing foodmanufacturers to import nearly 2.5m tonnes of the crop.
"Normally we export around 2.5m tonnes of wheat but this year we expect to have to import 2.5m tonnes," said Charlotte Garbutt, a senior analyst at the industry-financed Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board. "The crop that came through the winter has struggled and is patchy and variable. The area of wheat grown this year has been much smaller."
Analysts expect a harvest of 11m-12m tonnes, one of the smallest in a generation, after many farmers grubbed up their failing, waterlogged crops and replanted fields with barley. According to a National Farmers Unionpoll of 76 cereal growers covering 16,000 hectares, nearly 30% less wheat than usual is being grown in Britain this year.
Britain is usually the EU's third biggest wheat grower but it will be a net importer for the first time in 11 years. "Our poll is a snapshot but it is extremely worrying. If this plays out nationally, we will be below average production for the second year in a row," said NFU crops chair Andrew Watts. "If the experts are to be believed and extreme weatheris to become more frequent, we must look at ways of supporting the industry."
The diminished wheat harvest will add to growing concerns about the amount of food that British farmers can grow per hectare. According to a new analysis by the development board, UK wheat and oilseed rape yields have barely improved since the 1980s, despite genetic developments and better fertilisers. No one reason is given but severe and fluctuating weather is thought to have played a part.
Other crops have been badly damaged by the past year's severe weather. Oilseed rape and oats have suffered, and sugar beet, which is grown on 125,000 hectares mainly in eastern England, has been hit by a mystery condition that has stopped seeds germinating and has cut production by 50% in some areas. "The weather has definitely had an impact. The affected crops were sown in the very cold weather," said Mark Stevens, a scientist with the British Beet Research Orgaanisation.
The severe weather has also led to one of the latest fruit harvests in years. Major varieties of apple, including cox, are not expected to be in the shops until late September, said Adrian Barlow, chief executive of the trade body English Apples &Pears. "We don't yet know the long-term consequences of the winter. We have extremely cold weather which was good, but we have had trees with their feet in water for months and extremely windy conditions. But we are hopeful of a better harvest than last year."
However, the long winter could make for a succulent soft fruit crop, according to Harry Hall, Britain's biggest strawberry grower. "The crop is around three weeks later than average but the fruit has had extra time to grow so the quality is really good," said Hall, who expects to sell 7,700 tonnes this year.
Food prices are unlikely to rise significantly as a result of the poor British harvests, because these are determined by international trade. However, cereal food producer Weetabix had to halt productionof some of its breakfast cereals as a result of the disastrous wheat harvest in April.
The full impact of the hard winter is only now being seen, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. Its latest analysis says the total income from farming decreased by ㏒737min 2012 to ㏒4.7bn, with farmers facing both crop losses and higher costs to feed their animals.
Earlier this year the British Agriculture Bureau said flooding in the UK had caused ㏒1.3bn in damage in 2012.
This week, the UN and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development reported that environmental factors such as droughts, bad harvests and lack of land were likely to limit the growth of global food output. Agricultural production is expected to grow 1.5% a year on average over the coming decade, compared with annual growth of 2.1% between 2003 and 2012. Another widespread drought like the one experienced last year in the US and elsewhere could raise crop prices by 15%-40%, it said.
据英国《卫报》6月13日报道，湿秋接着寒春的气候导致小麦作物收成量达历年最低，损害粮食产量。
有记录以来的最潮湿的秋季之后，英国迎来了50年来最寒冷的春天，由此带来的恶劣天气严重地损害小麦生长，使食品制造商不得不从国外进口将近250万吨作物。
“在正常情况下，英国会有将近250万吨的小麦出口量，但是今年却要进口250万吨”由行业资助的农业和园艺发展局（Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board）的高级分析师夏洛特·加布特（Charlotte Garbutt)说道，"经历了一个寒冬的作物生长艰难，脆弱多变。今年的小麦产地面积变得更加少了。"
分析师预计，在农民铲掉生长失败的麦种以及受涝的作物，重新移植麦种后，今年的小麦的收成量会有1100万到1200万吨，是十年来最少的一次。根据一份全国农民联盟（National Farmers Union）对来自1.6万公顷种植地的76名谷种植者所作的调查显示，今年英国的小麦种植少了将近30%。
英国一直以来都是欧盟的第三大小麦种植国，但是，在未来11年间，英国将首次成为小麦的净进口国。“虽然我们的调查得出的只是初步的结果，但这也令人十分担忧，”全国农民联盟作物主席安德鲁·华兹(Andrew Watts)说：“若专家们的话是正确的，而这种极端恶劣天气又频繁出现的话，我们必须要找到方法来拯救我们的产业。”
小麦的减产也增加了英国农民的担忧：每公顷的田地可以多产粮食。根据发展委员会的一份最新分析，尽管20世纪80年代以来基因技术有了一定发展，施肥技术有所进步，但是英国的麦田和油菜田没有得到什么改善。具体原因并不清楚，但是可以确定的是恶劣多变的天气是其中一个原因。
其它的作物也在去年遭到恶劣天气的严重破坏。油菜和燕麦都未能幸免于难，而主要生长在英格兰东部种植面积有12.5万公顷的甜菜也无故停止发芽，一些地区还减产50%。英国甜菜科研组织科学家马克·史提芬（Mark Stevens)说："天气肯定对此造成了影响。受影响的作物都是在寒冷的冬天种下的。”
极端的天气导致了水果的收成时间遇到几年来最晚的一次。英国苹果雪梨贸易司（English Apples&Pears）的首席执行官艾德里安·巴罗( Adrian Barlow)称，各类苹果，包括考可斯苹果，将在9月份下旬才会上架。他说：“我们仍然不知冬天会带来什么长远的影响。寒冷的天气对于果树的生长是很不错，但是果树的根都泡在水中几个月了，而且它们还生长在极度严寒的天气中。不管怎样，我们都期待比上一年有更好的收成。”
然而，英国最大的草莓种植者哈里·侯尔(Harry Hall )认为，漫长的冬天可以种植出多汁柔软的水果作物。他说：“作物一般在迟于平均收成期的三个星期内收成，而水果则有更长的时间成熟，质量定会很好。”侯尔希望能在今年售出7700吨草莓。
由于惨淡的粮食收成，英国的食品价格不可能有太大的增长，这也是由国际贸易决定的。但是，由于4月份的小麦的惨淡收成，谷类食品生产商维他麦不得不停止生产某些谷类早餐食品。
环境部和食品与农务部（Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs）表示，严冬带来的影响还不止这些。根据其最新的调查，农业总收入在2012年为47亿英磅，减少了7.37亿英磅。农民们不仅要遭受作物减产带来的损失，而且还得花更多的钱购买饲料来喂养牲畜。
今年年初，英国农业局（British Agriculture Bureau）称，英国的洪涝灾害致使在2012年遭受13亿的损失。
本周，来自联合国和经济合作和发展组织（Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development）的报道称，一些环境因素，诸如旱灾、减产和土地流失很有可能会制约全球粮食产量的增长。在未来的十年中，农业产量的预期年均增长率为1.5%，而2003年到2012年的产量年均增长为2.1%。报道还称，像去年发生在美国以及其他地区的影响广泛的旱灾会使得作物价格增长15%-40%。