Higher food prices in the UK have pushed up inflation to 2.1% in October from a previous 1.8% in September. The new rate exceeds the government’s target of 2%.
Findings released last week by the Office of National Statistics (ONS) showed that food prices are increasing at their fastest rate in over a decade and are pushing up consumer price inflation.
Higher wheat, dairy and meat prices mean food manufacturers are having to pay 6% more for their raw ingredients than a year ago – the highest annual rate since 1993. Rising petrol prices were also citied as a major contributing factor.
The increased prices are being passed directly to consumers by the supermarkets, who are charging shoppers on average 12% more for a basket of 24 staple foods compared with last year, according to a study by grocery price comparison web site mySupermarket.co.uk.
In a survey of prices at Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Asda, mySupermarket concluded that the average UK family is now paying around £620 more on their annual food bill compared to a year ago. A kilo of peas at Tesco has gone up from £1.19 to £1.79, while at Asda, a dozen eggs has gone up from £1.62 to £2.55.
A combination of bad harvests and rising demand from India and China has led to soaring grain prices. This has in turn increased the cost of meat and dairy products as farmers seek to recover the cost of giving more expensive feed to their livestock. Butter prices jumped 18 per cent in October in the UK, whilst milk went up by 12 per cent.
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