The drought has led to a delay in sowing work in several European countries

After a dry and warm winter in the south and west of Europe, about 60% of rural areas in Spain are stricken by drought, and conditions for farmers in Italy and Portugal are deteriorating, reports Bloomberg. According to the agency, the drought is causing crops to wither and planting to be delayed, which could threaten further food inflation.

The head of the Italian farming group Confagricoltura, Massimiliano Giansanti, said the drought could hit the spring crop of “lucrative produce” such as tomatoes and fruit. The industry’s annual sales are estimated at €20bn ($22bn) and its exports are close to €8bn. Mr. Jansanti fears soybean and corn production will also be at risk, pushing up costs for meat and poultry producers.

Spain, according to a local farmers’ organization, has already lost grain crops on more than 3.5 million hectares of rain-fed amid the drought. Bloomberg writes that some walnut orchards and vineyards in the country are “hard to sprout” and the lack of flowers prevents bees from producing honey.

Rains in March and April have helped the rest of the European Union (EU) do better, with the EU predicting grain production to rise by 8% in 2023, according to the agency. In particular, much of Germany and Poland have received twice as much rain as usual in the last 30 days, and in France, almost all wheat and barley fields “are in good condition at the beginning of the season, although the water table remains low,” Bloomberg said.