Wet weather hits agriculture, triggering higher prices

The unseasonal heavy rains which have hit Switzerland in the past month are badly affecting agriculture and causing a sharp rise in prices.

Swiss farmers are complaining they have lost crops and their land is becoming harder to work, following five weeks of rain which has effectively interrupted summer.

The price of salads, beans, cauliflowers, courgettes and other products is up to 30 per cent higher than a year ago, Swiss television reported on Sunday.

The president of the vegetable producers’ association, Paul Meier, said much of the produce had been rotting and there were more diseases apparent. He said the wet weather made the land harder to work.

Over the past week, there have been other warnings of crops failing. On Friday, officials said the bad weather in July was damaging the wheat harvest, and that if it continued much of this year’s production would only be fit for animals.

The officials said a drop in wheat production could also hit bread supplies later in the year.

The bad weather has also led to unseasonal snow at low levels, particularly in the eastern part of Switzerland, and has caused a series of floods and mudslides.

swissinfo with agencies