Budget supermarket food sees annual price rises soar by 21.5 per cent

Budget supermarket food sees annual price rises soar by 21.5 per cent as families struggle with the cost of living crisis and the poorest households the hardest hit, new research shows

• The poorest households are being hit by soaring food bills, according to Which?
• Budget supermarket food is seeing an average annual price rise of 21.5% 
• Read more: Supermarket bosses fear food prices will continue to rise all year

Budget supermarket food, which millions have turned to through the cost of living crisis, is seeing average annual price rises of an astonishing 21.5 per cent.

The figures come from consumer champions at Which?, who say they demonstrate that it is the poorest households which are being worst hit by soaring food bills.

Its research found some products have seen eye-watering increases, such as tins of Growers Harvest sliced carrots, which are up 63 per cent at Tesco to 33p, and packs of pork sausages at Asda, up 58 per cent to £1.27.

Budget Creamfields French Brie was up 96.6 per cent at Tesco to £1.57, while Sainsbury’s Simply Muesli increased 87.5 per cent to £2.25. Woodside Farms Gammon steaks were up 59.3 per cent at Tesco to £2.39.

In January, the consumer champion’s price tracker analysed inflation on more than 25,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose.

Aldi and Lidl remain the cheapest supermarkets, however they are posting the fastest increase 

Butters and spreads have the highest inflation rate, with cheese not far behind

It found that overall inflation at the supermarket in January was at 15.9 per cent compared to the same calendar month last year, while the figure for value items rose 21.6 per cent.

Aldi and Lidl remain the cheapest supermarkets, however they are posting the fastest increase. The Which? tracker found that prices were up by 23.6 per cent at Lidl and by 22.5 per cent at Aldi.

The annual increase was 16.8 per cent at Asda, 15.2 per cent at Waitrose, 14.4 per cent at Morrisons, 13.6 per cent at Tesco, 13.2 per cent at Sainsburys, and 10.4 per cent at Ocado.

Looking at categories of foods, that butter and spreads continued to show extremely high rates of inflation with the average increase at 29.9 per cent. Milk was up by an average of 26.1 per cent with cheese up 23.8 per cent.

Which? is campaigning for all supermarkets to ensure that budget line items that enable an affordable and healthy diet are widely available, particularly in areas where people are most in need.

Budget supermarket food, which millions have turned to through the cost of living crisis, is seeing average annual price rises of an astonishing 21.5 per cent

Budget Creamfields French Brie was up 96.6 per cent at Tesco to £1.57, while Sainsbury’s Simply Muesli increased 87.5 per cent to £2.25. Woodside Farms Gammon steaks were up 59.3 per cent at Tesco to £2.39

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Food Policy, said: ‘It’s clear that food costs have soared in recent months, but our inflation tracker shows how households relying on supermarket value ranges are being hit the hardest.

READ MORE: Supermarket bosses fear food prices will continue to rise until the end of the year despite slowdown in inflation

 

‘Supermarkets need to act and Which? is calling for them to ensure everyone has easy access to basic, affordable food ranges at a store near them, particularly in areas where people are most in need.

‘Supermarkets must also do more to ensure transparent pricing enables people to easily work out which products offer the best value and target their promotions to support people who are really struggling.’

The British Retail Consortium and supermarkets blame the higher prices on increases in the cost of ingredients and energy, plus a need to pay suppliers, including farmers, more.

Asda said: ‘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 which has named Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years.’

Sainsbury’s said: ‘With costs going up, we are working hard to keep prices low. Last year we announced that we would invest over £550m by March 2023 into lowering prices as part of our goal to put food back at the heart of Sainsbury’s.

‘We’re committed to doing everything we can to support customers with the rising cost of living.’

In the past, some of the stores have questioned the accuracy of the Which? figures.

Tesco did not respond to a request for comment.

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