Hurricane Milton could cause food prices to skyrocket

According to forecasters at AccuWeather, Hurricane Milton is likely to compound the economic woes brought by Hurricane Helene, which struck the Florida coast just over two weeks ago on September 26th.

Helene has left a lasting mark; the economic damage is estimated at 225 to 250 billion US dollars. Now, as Milton approaches, Florida is once again at the center of a major storm disaster that could escalate into one of the costliest hurricanes in the country.

Of particular concern is the agricultural damage caused by the back-to-back storms, which could cause even more devastating damage than that caused by Helene, according to AccuWeather CEO Joel Myers.

“Milton may result in significant losses in vegetable and fruit crops such as oranges and tomatoes, which may have an even greater impact than Helene on agriculture,” Myers said in a statement to media on Monday.

“Some vegetables and fruits, such as oranges and tomatoes, could see grocery store price increases within a few weeks.”

The destruction of crops and infrastructure expected by Milton could impact supply chains and drive up food prices at a time when inflation is already a pressing concern.

That’s what an employee of Florida-based fruit grower and shipper Joshua Citrus Inc. said, who didn’t want to be named Newsweek that preparations for Milton’s arrival are in full swing, but that “if we lose the entire crop, as we did with Hurricane Ian, the price of oranges will skyrocket.”

Myers, meanwhile, warned that Hurricane Milton has the potential to be one of the most damaging and costly hurricanes in the U.S. as the storm is expected to make landfall in densely populated areas with expensive real estate.

While the storm is unlikely to cause catastrophic flooding in the southern Appalachians, its economic damage could still rival Helene’s and further strain the already fragile U.S. economy.

Should Milton cause total damage and economic losses of more than $200 billion, the combined impact of the two hurricanes could account for a staggering 2 percent of the country’s GDP in just three weeks.

Such losses could pose challenges for the Federal Reserve as it grapples with the delicate balance between containing inflation and supporting an economy reeling from back-to-back natural disasters, Myers said.

“On the one hand, the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates to reduce inflation. However, the storms cause inflation by increasing the cost of goods,” Myers said.

“On the other hand, the hurricanes are damaging to the economy, causing some businesses to fail and others to struggle because of the disasters, so jobs are lost and people and businesses face the economic impact of the disasters for a long time to come.”

The Federal Reserve is reportedly considering further rate cuts this year, but the devastating hurricanes are adding uncertainty to its decision-making. Normally a weakening economy would lead to lower interest rates, but inflationary pressures caused by the storms may require the opposite approach.

Do you have a tip for a science story? Newsweek should cover? Have a question about hurricanes? Let us know at [email protected].