Anyone who loves Sunday roast dinners issued new warning

The long-term impacts of this summer's hot and dry weather could be felt at dinner tables across the UK, with drought conditions driving food price hikes. The Sunday roast is a weekly staple for households around the country and one of the nation's favourite dishes, but a hotter climate could wreak havoc on the well-established custom. Roast mainstays including potatoes, peas and onions could soar in price following a summer of difficult growing conditions, with record-breaking temperatures, four heatwaves and ongoing hosepipe bans.

The Food and Drink Federation warned earlier this month that food inflation is expected to rise by 5.7% in December, with climate change playing a central role in smaller crop yields and higher-priced output. "Climate stressors are increasingly destroying crops and disrupting harvest cycles," the federation's UK Food and Drink Inflation 2025-26 report said.

"In the UK, farmers are preparing for a second consecutive year of poor harvests. Prolonged dry weather and depleted soil moisture are already undermining yields across a range of crops," it continued.

"Wheat production alone is projected to be around 9% below the 10-year average."

The Met Office confirmed earlier in September that summer 2025 was the UK's hottest on record, with an average temperature of 16.10C between June 1 and August 31, taking account of daytime highs and overnight lows.

John Walgate, CEO of the British Growers Association (BGA), said the weather was "disastrous" for popular Sunday roast vegetables. The BGA previously cautioned that farmgate prices for root crops could spike by up to 50% if shortages continue.

Mr Walgate told The i Paper that the past few months had taken their toll on British produce, "with carrots and potatoes suffering and brassicas and peas the worst hit from a lack of water".

"Some brassica crops were reduced by 50% and in general the pea harvest was down at least 30%," he added. "This is purely lack of rainfall. It demonstrates how climate change and extreme weather events are having more of an impact on British food production."

Summer rainfall in England was well below average this year, with only 84% of the long-term seasonal average recorded and five parts of the country reaching drought status.

The trend is particularly worrying when considered alongside the growing percentage of imported food entering the UK, which only produces 53% of its domestic vegetable consumption and 15% of fruit.

"With low grower confidence and returns, this is likely to get worse," Mr Walgate warned. "All at a time when the government states that food security equals national security. The effect on consumers is higher prices as retailers will source from abroad to keep shelves full."

A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "We are safeguarding food security and improving this country's resilience to drought by backing farmers with the largest nature-friendly budget in history, supporting sustainable farming practices like improving soil health.

"We've also secured over £104 billion in private investment to cut leaking pipes, build nine new reservoirs and secure water supplies for the future."