Devastating floods in Spain could have immediate effects on Europe’s food
It’s been a week since the devastating flooding in eastern Spain’s Valencia region. More than 200 people have died, and an unknown number are missing.
Along with major damage to homes, businesses and roads, many farms were also flooded. And that will likely affect the food supply chain in Europe and the United Kingdom.
Spain is the biggest producer of oranges and other citrus in Europe, and one of the biggest in the world.
William Masters at the Friedman School of Nutrition at Tufts University said in addition to those famous oranges, “Spain is an important agricultural producer — olives and many other crops, tomatoes, for example.”
Lots of other vegetables, too, and rice is another big one.
We don’t yet know the full extent of the damage to crops and fruit trees, said David Ortega at Michigan State University.
“These floods will likely lead to higher grocery prices for things like citrus and some vegetables in Spain,” he said. “But it can also affect European markets that rely on Spanish imports, especially during the winter months.”
And U.K. markets too.
“Spain supplies 25% of Britain’s fruit imports, but also 8% of its vegetable imports,” Ortega said.
The U.K. and European Union countries that rely on produce from Spain will find ways to adjust, said Tafadzwa Mabhaudhi at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “Most of these countries also import a significant proportion of their citrus and tomatoes from other countries.”
Such as South Africa and Brazil. They’ll likely be able to fill the gap, though there may be shortages for a while.
Mabhaudhi said it’s a reminder of how interconnected the world and our food chain has become.
“The floods in Spain and the ripple effects in Europe and the U.K. highlight an important thing in terms of how do we respond to climate change,” Mabhaudhi said. “The implications of these disasters transcend borders.”
So, he said, how we prepare our food system for climate change should too.