UK food inflation hits record high of 13.3%, expert says '2023 another difficult year for consumers'

London: The United Kingdom food price inflation hit a record high of 13.3 per cent in December, up from 12.4 per cent in the previous month.

According to BRC-NielsenIQ shop price index, fresh foods led to the increase in inflation. “The figure is the highest inflation rate in the fresh food category on record,” the British Retail Consortium trade body warned.

The fresh foods inflation rose to 15 per cent from 14.3 per cent in November.

The soaring price of food including those of pasta and tinned edibles in December led to many households experiencing a “challenging Christmas”.

The price of ambient food increased 11 per cent in December against the same month a year earlier.

“It was a challenging Christmas for many households across the UK,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

“Not only did the cold snap force people to spend more on their energy bills, but the prices of many essential foods also rose as reverberations from the war in Ukraine continued to keep high the cost of animal feed, fertiliser and energy,” Dickinson said.

The BRC said rising prices for animal feed, fertiliser and energy weighed on food prices and warned that consumers would probably face further increases in 2023.

Dickinson said, “2023 will be another difficult year for consumers and businesses as inflation shows no immediate signs of waning.”

Meanwhile, non-food shops, such as fashion or homeware retailers, witnessed inflation slow to 4.4 per cent in December from 4.8 per cent in November due to price cuts.

“Non-food price rises eased as some retailers used discounting to shed excess stock built up during the disruptions to supply chains, meaning some customers were able to bag bargain gifts,” Dickinson said.

“The combined impact was that price increases overall plateaued, with the reduction in non-food inflation offsetting the higher food prices,” Dickinson added.

With inputs from agencies

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