Food prices

[mac]

We keep seeing about energy and fuel prices going up but what's people's thoughts on food going up. The price of wheat has doubled fertiliser has trebled tractor diesel has more than doubled this must soon affect food prices

 

[birchesgreen]

Food prices have already increased a lot. For example a tub of cream at my local supermarket was 1 pound last last year, its 1.30 now. I honestly think we are heading for a terrible crash sometime this year as people simply can no longer afford to live and then the lot will go off.

 

[ABB125]

2 pint milk at Sainsbury's was 80p when I started buying it in September 2020. (A complete rip of compared to a 6 pint bottle for ~£1.65 or so - I'm not sure exactly as it doesn't affect me!) That price was maintained for some time, but over the last few months it's crept up and is now 95p per bottle. A 20% increase. Yes, I know inflation is quite high at the moment, but I don't think it's quite 20%*! (Well, not yet... )

*Yes, I am aware that not all products increase by the same amount.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

Hovis Granary 800g sliced bread seems to have increased by 15p from £1.50 to £1.65 per loaf at Tesco/Sainsbury/Ocado of recent, which is an exactly 10% increase.

Surprisingly, the same item is now routinely 5p more at Morrison's (£1.70) and 10p more at Asda (£1.75).

Wonder how long before someone is charging £2.00+ per loaf for this particular product?

 

[birchesgreen]

I was watching a news item on TV earlier about North Africa. They are dependent on Ukrainian and Russian grain, and prices have risen 700%(!)

We know what happened last time people went hungry in this part of the world.

 

[TheEdge]

I honestly think we are heading for a terrible crash sometime this year as people simply can no longer afford to live and then the lot will go off.

I'd agree, something just has to give soon. Everything is inflating at huge rates, a significant amount of them into double figures. But wages remain resolutely stagnant, or real terms cuts. It can't keep going.

 

[mac]

If you think how many chickens we eat and how cheap they are if there food doubles so will chicken

 

[Ostrich]

Wonder how long before someone is charging £2.00+ per loaf for this particular product?

They already are, I'm afraid. I was charged £2.10 a couple of weeks back for a loaf at a large independent village convenience store in my area - that was Hovis Seed Sensation 800g; your Hovis Granary is currently on their website @ £2.15.

 

[Mcr Warrior]

They already are, I'm afraid. I was charged £2.10 a couple of weeks back for a loaf at a large independent village convenience store in my area - that was Hovis Seed Sensation 800g; your Hovis Granary is currently on their website @ £2.15.

Sadly, not too surprising. It does tend to be the items, which you buy more than just occasionally, where you do notice the sudden, sharp price increases.

 

[Busaholic]

Almond croissant, nice one admittedly, priced £1.70 at baker a year ago and, after four price hikes, was £2,75, same size, when I bought one in January, which would have been the last one I ever bought there even if the bakery hadn't closed after its roof was blown off in Storm Eunice!

Then on Friday went to greengrocer to buy small pot of fresh white crabmeat, increased in price from £6.99 to £7.99 since last week.

 

[david1212]

Over the last 12 months Iceland have increased the price of numerous lines significantly e.g. Chinese Meals £1.59 > £1.75 > £1.89 > £1.95, Kievs were box of 2 for 99p then box of 4 for £2.25 now £2.50, Cheesecake was £1 now £1.50.

I've almost given up with Tesco as some basic range items have disappeared hence an indirect price increase to buy the available item.

Overall smaller price increases so far in Aldi. I was alternating between Aldi & Tesco but since Christmas used Aldi every week.

A new Lidl has opened and I did go in for a look Saturday. While for a comparison basket Lidl came out cheaper than Aldi as I have found in the past when I have occasionally visited the Lidl near work they don't carry some items I regularly buy. Hence I will be keeping with Aldi, Iceland and occasional visits to Tesco.

 

[Starmill]

2 pint milk at Sainsbury's was 80p when I started buying it in September 2020. (A complete rip of compared to a 6 pint bottle for ~£1.65 or so - I'm not sure exactly as it doesn't affect me!) That price was maintained for some time, but over the last few months it's crept up and is now 95p per bottle. A 20% increase. Yes, I know inflation is quite high at the moment, but I don't think it's quite 20%*! (Well, not yet... )

*Yes, I am aware that not all products increase by the same amount.

Milk is probably a poor example product - at 80p it was almost certainly being sold at a loss given the costs of production, bottling and transport.

 

[Freightmaster]

Milk is probably a poor example product - at 80p it was almost certainly being sold at a loss given the costs of production, bottling and transport.

This is a good point - it could be argued that food prices are not becoming untenable - they were arguably set too low to begin with.

The same applies to petrol and diesel: despite WFH still being a 'thing' for many office workers, the roads around me are as busy
with private cars as they were back in 2019, if not busier. If fuel at £1.70+ was "unaffordable", people would only be using their
cars for essential journeys such as commuting...





MARK

 

[birchesgreen]

The same applies to petrol and diesel: despite WFH still being a 'thing' for many office workers, the roads around me are as busy
with private cars as they were back in 2019, if not busier. If fuel at £1.70+ was "unaffordable", people would only be using their
cars for essential journeys such as commuting...

Not everyone is the same though and has the same financial muscle. Same as food prices, for many its causing real hard ship now.

 

[AM9]

Almond croissant, nice one admittedly, priced £1.70 at baker a year ago and, after four price hikes, was £2,75, same size, when I bought one in January, which would have been the last one I ever bought there even if the bakery hadn't closed after its roof was blown off in Storm Eunice!

Then on Friday went to greengrocer to buy small pot of fresh white crabmeat, increased in price from £6.99 to £7.99 since last week.

£1.70 per almond croissant? I regularly get one from Waitrose for £1.30. They're good, made by Deli France and regularly sell out.

 

[Snow1964]

Yes food prices are going up, but not really a supply problem like there was during Second World War.

Although there are those with financial hardship, haven’t seen any evidence of people rushing to dig allotments so they can plant seeds and have free healthy vegetables in summer and autumn.

 

[mac]

Maybe not a supply problem yet but what's going to happen in say 3 months if farmer's stop production like the biggest glasshouse grower in the country has due to the price of fuel
Is there enough allotments for everyone

 

[DelayRepay]

I've certainly noticed prices rise over the last couple of years. Various reasons are stated including impacts of the pandemic, increased energy costs, labour shortages and unresolved post-Brexit issues.

So we are at a point where prices are already high, but we're about to see a reduction in the global grain supply due to the situation in Russia and Ukraine. It's an international market so even if we don't source much grain from these countries (I don't know if we do or not), prices will rise globally. And of course energy prices continue to rise, in particular diesel which is used to power most of the lorries that distribute food. The NI hike will feed through into higher costs for UK based food producers, distributors and retailers as well.

So things are only going to get worse.

Like with energy, we have become used to low prices so this will be a real shock to the system. And it will hit the poorest hardest because they're already buying the cheapest products available so don't have the option to switch to a cheaper brand/shop.

My local foodbank is busier than it's ever been - I dread to think what their demand will be like in a couple of months as all the coming price rises filter through.

 

[Gloster]

I wonder whether we are going to see a change in shopping habits: far more use of the cheapest supermarkets and discount shops, and also more buying of own brand basic varieties of goods (and doing your own shopping so you can pick carefully rather than getting it delivered). As an extreme example of savings: the only bran flakes available in my village Tesco are Kellogg’s at £2.49 for 500 g. The Morrison’s in the nearby town has 1 kg. packets at £1.20. Years of being skint mean that I have been quite happy to cart the large box back from Morrison’s on the bus, but how many people would just grab the smaller box and pay without thinking? With things as they are, more may start thinking about what and where they buy.

 

[Freightmaster]

I wonder whether we are going to see a change in shopping habits: far more use of the cheapest supermarkets and discount shops, and also more buying of own brand basic varieties of goods (and doing your own shopping so you can pick carefully rather than getting it delivered). As an extreme example of savings: the only bran flakes available in my village Tesco are Kellogg’s at £2.49 for 500 g. The Morrison’s in the nearby town has 1 kg. packets at £1.20. Years of being skint mean that I have been quite happy to cart the large box back from Morrison’s on the bus, but how many people would just grab the smaller box and pay without thinking? With things as they are, more may start thinking about what and where they buy.

One of the most cost effective ways of saving money on supermarket bills is to swap as many items as possible from branded to 'own brand' items.

I have seen several TV programs over the years where members of the public have participated in blind tests and more often than not,
couldn't tell the difference between own brand staples and the equivalent branded items costing 2-4 times more!


However, as other posters have quite rightly pointed out, anyone who is already doing this has little scope for further savings,
so many be forced to use resources such as food banks in the coming months.





MARK

 

[kristiang85]

The problem is that it's the cheapest foods that will rise the most - e.g. pasta, rice, dairy, cheap meals, etc.

Before the pandemic, a bag of penne pasta in my local shop was 45p. Now its 80p. That's almost a 100% rise.

Yet the premium fresh pizzas have gone up from 4.50 to 4.75, only 5% rise.

So quite clearly it is the poorer families who are going to be hit hard incredibly quickly, and not helped by the huge increases in energy costs, which are unavoidable for them.

The inflation rate might 'only' be 7% or something at the moment, but for those close to the breadline it is going to be a lot, lot higher.

 

[computerSaysNo]

Tesco Meal Deals have gone up from £3.00 to £3.50, and the majority of multibuys are now clubcard-only too. Which would be fine if they actually advertised it and let people know, but they've been very sneaky in how they've done it (price stickers now say "Meal Deal £3" in large print, then in very very small letters underneath, "clubcard price only").

 

[Gloster]

Sorry, what I meant with my post is that the price increases are going to start hitting the people who might complain. Previously the people who had to buy the cheapest products were ignored when things became difficult and nobody who was in a position to do anything bothered about them. Now it is starting to hit those who can and will start making their unhappiness clear to those who could act.

More brutally: the people who used to be worst hit were those whose lifestyles meant that they often didn’t vote, didn’t have the time or ability to complain to the right people and weren’t organised. Now it is the people who can do these things that are being hit and they are likely to do something, if only for themselves.

 

[roversfan2001]

Tesco Meal Deals have gone up from £3.00 to £3.50, and the majority of multibuys are now clubcard-only too. Which would be fine if they actually advertised it and let people know, but they've been very sneaky in how they've done it (price stickers now say "Meal Deal £3" in large print, then in very very small letters underneath, "clubcard price only").

Everyone who regularly shops at Tesco will be aware of the existence of the Clubcard, and aware of the benefits that owning one comes with.

 

[AM9]

Yes food prices are going up, but not really a supply problem like there was during Second World War.

Although there are those with financial hardship, haven’t seen any evidence of people rushing to dig allotments so they can plant seeds and have free healthy vegetables in summer and autumn.

It's a bit early for that as there are still frosty mornings.

 

[DarloRich]

Prices are going to go up and up. Change the way you shop: bin the pre cooked, processed stuff. Buy fresh and buy in bulk. Shop away from the supermarkets ( try your local market) and learn to cook simple filling meals and batch them if you can. It isn't hard to cook decent food on a budget but it does take more thought & planning than whacking a chicken Kyiv or premium pizza in the oven

BTW: I have been in a position of having nothing ( including at some points the heat or light debate) and you have to learn how to get by. It takes focus and planning. It was hard enough with only me but it will be harder with kids to manage.

Jack Monore ( bootstrap cook) has done loads of work in this area and has really hammered supermarkets on prices of own brand staples to some success.

PS - if you can support your local food bank. They are needed now and will be needed more in the near future.

 

[ainsworth74]

Yes food prices are going up, but not really a supply problem like there was during Second World War.

Perhaps it's just me but I'm not sure: "Well it's not as bad the Second World War" isn't quite the level I think we should be aiming for as a country!!

Although there are those with financial hardship, haven’t seen any evidence of people rushing to dig allotments so they can plant seeds and have free healthy vegetables in summer and autumn.

Round where I am the waiting list for allotments is long and basically you're waiting for someone to die or go into a care home before you've got a hope in hell of getting one. Some people could of course dig up parts of their garden (my grandfather used this approach) but not everyone is blessed with a garden or at least one of a sufficient size. Especially those who are likely to be in financial hardship. That also presumes that people have the time to put into an allotment what with childcare, work and other demands on time. So I'm not sure that a lack of people "rushing to dig allotments" is a good indicator of a lack of a problem.

However, as other posters have quite rightly pointed out, anyone who is already doing this has little scope for further savings,
so many be forced to use resources such as food banks in the coming months.

Yes Jack Monroe has done a lot of work on this subject especially pointing out that it's those very staples where some of the biggest hits are coming. The Tesco own brand penne pasta or the Asda packet of rice. For someone like myself, who is lucky enough that I don't face a massive financial crunch due to my own circumstances, if I need to I can just step down from branded to own brand and make instant savings if required. But for people who have already done that? Any increase in the price of their food is going to be difficult to manage and we're already seeing big percentage increases in those very items.

 

[gg1]

Everyone who regularly shops at Tesco will be aware of the existence of the Clubcard, and aware of the benefits that owning one comes with.

This 'benefit' (hiking up the prices on large numbers of products for non clubcard holders - definitely in excess of 10% of their stock) is relatively new though, until recently the cards were only really used to collect points on purchases with clubcard specific prices being few and far between.

 

[ainsworth74]

PS - if you can support your local food bank. They are needed now and will be needed more in the near future.

This! Even a tin or two in the collection can go a long way for those that are forced into using a foodbank. Though don't forget that people who use foodbanks deserve treats to. Chucking an Easter egg in at this time of year would be helpful for those with children for instance.

 

[DarloRich]

This! Even a tin or two in the collection can go a long way for those that are forced into using a foodbank. Though don't forget that people who use foodbanks deserve treats to. Chucking an Easter egg in at this time of year would be helpful for those with children for instance.

Absolutely - they need all kinds of goods including things like soap powder, washing up liquid, pet food, cleaning products etc. One of ( that is shameful to say isn't it) our local ones has started doing household bags recognising that kids need clean clothes for school and people for work etc etc.

Something is very wrong with our country.