Restaurants boosted by record monthly fall in costs

THE painful rise in London restaurant bills over recent years is set to ease finally after a key measure of hospitality industry cost inflation today showed the biggest month-on-month fall ever recorded.

- Jonathan Prynn

Diners have been hammered by the huge increase in the cost of eating out, which has been fuelled by wages being pushed up by shortages of chefs and waiting and bar staff since Brexit and the pandemic, a spike in energy and food inflation and other burdens such as higher rents and rates.

But the CGA Prestige Foodservice Index (FPI) today revealed a record 1.4% monthly fall in March compared with February. That reduced the annual rate to below 10% for the first time in two years.

Although that is still a much faster pace than the overall 3.4% rate of inflation during the month, further falls are expected.

Today's data showed a range of staple food prices falling in March with bread and cereals down 2%, coffee, tea and cocoa 1.7% lower, milk, cheese and eggs falling 1.8%, and vegetables easing by 2%.