This year, British households are feeling the pinch as the price of food has risen significantly. According to research conducted for the BBC, a 500g bag of standard pasta that cost fifty pence two years ago now costs ninety-five pence. The total price of 15 essentials of daily life has increased by $5.34, from £15.79 in 2021 to $21.13 in 2023.
Inflation in the United Kingdom may have peaked at 11.1% in October, according to official data, but food price increases are still running at 16.7%. Over the past two years, the cost of a standard shopping basket has increased by more than a third.
This steep price increase is due to a number of factors, including the war in Ukraine, which caused a significant increase in the price of gasoline and disrupted the supply of grains, vegetable oils, and fertiliser. Moreover, food production is energy-intensive, and farmers have been planting fewer crops due to rising heating costs and a lack of available seasonal labour. Consequently, British consumers have been forced to import more food from abroad, driving up prices even further.
According to James Walton, chief economist at the IGD, a research charity for the food and consumer goods industry, food prices may reach 17 to 19 percent in the first half of this year, before beginning a gradual decline. He believes that the competitive nature of grocery retailing in the United Kingdom, in which supermarkets and suppliers strive to outdo one another in order to secure a better deal for customers, is the best protection for consumers against price inflation.
As 2021 continues, there appears to be little relief for households struggling with rising food prices.
