Peaches and apricots grown in the UK, along with grapes, soya and sunflowers – that is the prospect for the century ahead as climate change sends temperatures rising, Defra has said.

A warmer UK climate could also lead to improved yields for key UK crops such as wheat and sugar beet, the department said.

The forecast is party of Defra’s first comprehensive assessment of the impact of climate change on the UK, published today.

“A wide range of new crops could potentially be grown, depending on how changes in rainfall and temperature affect soil conditions,” the report said.

“New food crops could include blueberries, maize, table grapes, sunflowers, soya; new energy crops for biogas, biomass or bioethanol production could emerge; new pharmaceutical crops and new industrial crops could also all become agronomically viable.”

Meanwhile, for many current UK crops, increase in temperature and elevated levels of CO2 could lead to more favourable growing conditions, Defra added.

The department cited projections of wheat yields increasing by as much as 140% by the 2050s, with sugar beet yields potentially rising by 70%. However, the report included a caveat that the methodology behind the figures was “too crude for any objective assessment of the future impact of climate change on yield”.

More nuanced models had forecast wheat yield increases for the 2050s closer to the 20% mark, Defra said.

Despite offering some opportunities for food production, climate change presented many challenges to agriculture, not least through increased flood risks, Defra noted. According to its report, 150% more agricultural land will be at risk from flooding in the 2080s than is the case today, with floods also threatening to cause greater disruption to the supply chain.

“Supply chain disruption, for instance, may result in reduced sales and share prices,” Defra said, adding that the sectors most vulnerable to flooding were wholesale and retail, alongside finance, insurance and manufacturing.

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