Hotspots in the EU‐27 and Economic Consequences of the 2022 Spring‐Summer Drought

Abstract

SummaryThe year 2022 will be remembered as a year of severe drought in Europe. Production losses on account of the drought from the six crops representing the most extensive harvested area may even have run to an estimated 13 billion euros in the EU‐27. Considering the ratio of the six crops in all croplands, the total revenue loss to cropland farming may have reached twice as much (25–30 billion euros). This figure indicates the magnitude of the challenge represented by climate change to the continent. While most of Europe suffered from severe drought in the spring and summer of 2022, the agricultural losses were region‐specific and were concentrated in the Western Mediterranean and Carpathian‐Balkan regions. Maize and sunflower suffered the highest losses, while data for wheat, barley, rapeseed, and rye showed an ambivalent picture. Losses in production of cropland farming associated with extremely high market prices have even reached 1–2 per cent of GDP in some countries in the Carpathian‐Balkan region. The paradox of last year was that despite drought hitting cropland farming severely, agriculture in the European Union has created a very high gross added value due to skyrocketing food prices.