Squeeze on households as budget pasta and oil rise by two-thirds

THE cost of budget pasta and vegetable oil has risen by almost two-thirds over the past year as millions of households face a growing squeeze on their finances.

- David Bond

Data from the Office for National Statistics released this morning showed that a sample of 30 everyday grocery items taken from the cheapest online supermarket ranges jumped by 17 per cent overall in the 12 months to September.

Although it is broadly in line with the ONS’s official measure of inflation for food and drink, which was 15 per cent over the same period, the cost of budget food has increased sharply since April with nine of the 30 items analysed rising by more than 20 per cent in the last year. The three items to rise highest were vegetable oil (65 per cent), pasta (60 per cent) and tea (46 per cent) but chips, bread and biscuits increased by more than a third.