The ‘Which?’ consumer insight tracker has released new findings which show that in Britain, food prices have continued to rise, as the costs for some meat products, yogurt, and vegetables doubled over the past year.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) commissioned the monthly survey, which was released on Tuesday and showed that price rises in categories that have previously experienced the fastest increases – including milk, butter, spreads, and bakery items – have eased slightly, even as other essential food groups continued to rise month over month.
The survey found that in April, out of 26,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets, meat prices increased 15%, fish prices rose 16.5%, yogurt was up 21.8%, and vegetables rose 15.3%.
The report said, “Looking at averages across a longer three-month period, we found some examples of individual items doubling in price in the space of a year.”
Frankfurters (350g) at Asda, Morliny increased from an average of £1.25 ($1.56) to £2.42 ($3.03), marking a 93.8% increase over a year ago. A pack of four brown onions at Morrisons increased from 65 pence to £1.24 – an over 90% increase over 12 months.
Aberdoyle Dairies Natural Cottage Cheese at Lidl saw its price jump from 67 pence in 2022 to £1.34 this year, marking a 100.9% increase.
The report said, “These examples of massive supermarket price hikes on some common food types show how difficult it is, particularly for customers on low incomes, to maintain a healthy diet. Other food categories where inflation continued to rise month on month included juice, chocolate, water, fish, chilled ready meals and cheese.”
Noting that food inflation remains at “shockingly high levels,” the report called on Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to take action to help struggling consumers
Sue Davies, the head of food policy at ‘Which?,’ said, “It’s very alarming to see products such as meat, cheese and vegetables that people rely on still rapidly soaring in price. Supermarkets must also provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.”
According to the official data, last month the rate of inflation in Britain eased slightly, however it still remains above 10%, as food and drink costs sit at 45-year highs.
Huw Pill, the chief economist for the Bank of England, said in April that households and businesses in Britain need to accept that now they are poorer, and they need to stop asking for wage increases and seeking to alleviate their suffering, as it will only drive prices higher.
