{
  "id": 6469226,
  "title": "Colombia’s El Niño Drought Pushes Food Prices Up 60%",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/colombias-el-nino-drought-pushes-food-prices-up-60",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T20:30:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Colombia One",
    "slug": "colombia-one",
    "url": "https://colombiaone.com/2026/09/09/colombia-food-prices-drought/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Colombia's ongoing El Niño drought is causing food prices to soar by up to 60%, according to the Central Wholesale Market of Antioquia. The water shortages and wildfires are disrupting crop supplies across multiple agricultural regions, including Antioquia, Tolima, and other areas supplying the country's food markets. The combination of drought and fire is causing a chain reaction that extends beyond the fields, as Colombia's agricultural regions typically ship produce daily to distribution centers in cities like Medellin. This disruption at the source inevitably affects every plaza de mercado, or traditional food market, that relies on the steady supply. In Tolima, multiple forest fires have burned through over 50,000 hectares of forest and farmland, directly affecting more than 28,000 farmers who lost their harvests entirely. These farms normally send tons of food daily to markets across the country, including Medellin. The rising prices are particularly noticeable for staples like cilantro, string beans, squash, carrots, potatoes, and tomatoes, which have seen increases of 50%, 33%, 20%, 13%, 12%, and 11% respectively in the past week alone. While not all products are rising in price, those that are becoming more expensive offer budget-conscious shoppers reasonable substitutes, such as green peas, eggplant, broccoli, guanabana, guava, ginger, passion fruit, cucumber, bell pepper, pineapple, and watermelon. The El Niño crisis is expected to continue, making it essential for consumers to keep track of which products are rising or falling in price each week to manage household food budgets effectively during this challenging period.",
  "summary": "Colombia’s El Niño drought has pushed food prices higher as water shortages and forest fires reduce crop supplies across several agricultural regions. Shoppers who suspect fruits and vegetables cost more than usual these days aren’t imagining it, since Colombia’s water scarcity and forest fires have genuinely reduced both the volume and quality of crops grown […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Colombia's El Niño drought causing food prices to surge 60%",
    "Tolima forest fires burned 50,000+ hectares, affecting 28,000+ farmers",
    "Staple prices up 50%-11%: cilantro, beans, squash, carrots, potatoes, tomatoes"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}