Food inflation has finally begun to ease across the eurozone, offering some relief to households after years of rising grocery bills.
But economists warn the respite may not last.
Instead of the recent Iran war, this summer's extreme heat is now emerging as the biggest risk to food prices next year, with droughts and heatwaves threatening harvests across Europe and beyond.
"We think this summer’s heatwaves will be a stronger upward driver of food prices next year than the war", said Tomas Dvorak, senior economist at Oxford Economics, in a new report.
The warning comes despite fears earlier this year that higher oil and fertiliser prices triggered by the conflict between Israel and Iran would quickly feed through to supermarket shelves.
