What was the direct effect of reduced grain production on towns?

Bread prices increased

The governing concept is the relationship between supply and price. Grain was the main raw material for bread, an essential food for urban workers and poor families. When harvests were poor and grain production declined, less grain reached town markets. If demand for bread remained high while supply fell, its price rose. This was the direct economic effect described in option A. Higher bread prices reduced the purchasing power of workers whose wages did not rise at the same speed and could produce hunger, anger, and unrest. Option B is a political consequence that did not automatically follow from one fall in production. Option C is too extreme and unsupported, because Church income did not become zero, while option D confuses food shortage with the operation of the tax system. Thus A best states the immediate market effect.

This is a Class 9 History question. Chapter: The French Revolution. Topic: French Society During the Late Eighteenth Century.