No break for Brits as inflation pushes the cost of kitchen staples by 80 per cent
Brits are yet to receive a break from soaring food prices as the price of cheddar cheese, sliced white bread and porridge oats are up to 80 per cent more expensive than a year ago.
As inflation reached record highs due to the war in Ukraine, consumers were forced to fork out more for kitchen staples such as cheddar cheese which has increased by an average of 28.3 per cent over the past year, according to data from consumer choice platform Which?
The company cited Dragon Welsh Mature Cheddar 180g at Asda, as one of the most expensive price hikes as it rose from £1 to £1.80 year on year.
The analysis covered the average price of the products in the three months to the end of March 2023 compared to the same time period last year.
Moreover the ‘Big Four’ grocer also increased the cost of its own brand mature cheddar sticks by 78 per cent over the course of a year.
The price of the breakfast favourite staple porridge oats also shot up by an average of 35.5 per cent across supermarkets – with Ocado increasing the price of a single Quaker Oat So Simple Protein Porridge Pot Original by 65.5 per cent, jumping up from 94p to £1.56.
As rising transport and packaging costs made imports more expensive, the price of sliced white bread rose an average of 22.8 per cent over the last year. Potatoes were up 14 per cent.
‘A bleak picture’
Head of food policy at Which? Sue Davies said that the latest figures painted a “bleak picture” for households across the UK with the poorest once again feeling the “brunt of the cost of living crisis”.
The annual food inflation rate in February was 18.2 per cent, up from 16.8 per cent in the year to January 2023.
Moreover, the Which? tracker shows supermarket own-label budget items, which are still the cheapest overall, were up 24.8 per cent in March compared with the same time last year. This is more than standard supermarket own brands which were up by 20.5 per cent.
It comes in the midst of a fierce supermarket price war which has seen all major UK grocers battle to become the most affordable option for consumers introducing various price locks and money saving schemes.
Just last week, Tesco announced that it would slash the price of a pint of milk from 95p to 90p and two pints from £1.30 to £1.25 – with rivals Aldi, Lidl, Asda and Sainsbury’s swiftly jumping on board, announcing identical price cuts the next day.
“We’re working hard to keep prices in check for customers despite global inflationary pressures and we remain the lowest-priced major supermarket – a position recognised by Which? in their regular monthly basket comparison that has named Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years,” an Asda spokesperson said.
“With costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low. In the last two years, we have invested over £550m into lowering prices as part of our goal to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s,” a Sainsbury’s spokesperson added.
When will food prices stabilise?
As shoppers hold out for an ease in price rises, Sanjay Raja, chief UK economist at Deutsche Bank told City A.M that he expects that food inflation will be elevated for “some time”. Raja explains that as bad weather and soaring energy costs continue to hit the sector hard, it not be until the middle of next year that we see food inflation returning to its pre-pandemic levels of two or three per cent.
He added: “We’ve had multiple supply shocks in a number of different areas, from energy to wages to transport costs that have supported food inflation this year to its record highs. And there’s a little bit of a lag when it comes to food inflation adjusting and it will take some time to normalise. In fact, we don’t expect food inflation to get back to its pre-pandemic trend until late next year, proving rather sticky on the way down.”