Heavy rainfall could lead to rise in food prices and bees potentially starving

Farmers have warned of prices increasing while a beekeeper says his insects could starve after heavy rainfall in recent months. Credit: PA Images / ITV Tyne Tees

The country's largest farmers' association has warned that recent heavy rainfall could see the price of food rise in the North East and across the country.

James Copeland, from the National Farmers' Union, told ITV Tyne Tees there are "concerns" that if the wet weather continues, farmers will struggle to keep up with the demand from consumers.

"We are now in a situation where the soil is so saturated that the ground is now browning and dying off," he said. "If these crops continue to drown we will start to see a reduction in our ability for us to provide food for the consumer."

With crops dying, he said farmers would have to buy materials from elsewhere at a "global price", which could have a knock-on effect on customers when it comes to buying food.

Bees could "starve"

Recent rainfall could also lead to bees starving, according to one keeper on Teesside.

Steve Jacklin said the heavy rainfall has wiped out much of the oil seed rape his 30 colonies are ready to harvest on.

He said it meant "potentially they could starve".

Mr Jacklin told ITV Tyne Tees: "With the weather, there's not that much crop out there [for the bees] to actually harvest, so that's going to affect the food supply."

In the North East, there has been 309.4mm of rain since January, compared to 215.1mm in the same period last year - a 35% increase.

Meanwhile, in North Yorkshire, 356.2mm of rain has fallen, compared to 282.2mm last year - a rise of 23%.

After Storm Henk in early January this year, the government announced a Farming Recovery Fund to help farmers who had suffered uninsurable damage to their land.

It allowed them to apply for grants of up to £25,000.

The union representative also warned the problem could have longer-term impacts. Mr Copeland said: "The crops that are dying in the ground now are going to be harvested in the late summer, and for the livestock sector, they need that food and the straw for 2025."

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