FOOD PRICES SURGE FUELS BIG SQUEEZE

RECORD RISE SENDS ANNUAL BILLS UP £837 40% WORRIED ABOUT FEEDING THEIR FAMILIES

- Jonathan Prynn

SUPERMARKET shoppers are being battered by record food price rises with the soaring cost of kitchen essentials such as eggs, milk and cheese adding more than £800 to annual bills, new figures revealed today.

The latest data showed there had been no respite for hard-pressed consumers with grocery price inflation rising from 17.1 per cent to an all-time high of 17.5 per cent in the 12 weeks to March 19.

It means that the same food and drink staples would cost £837 more over 12 months than in the previous year, although in reality shoppers were cutting back, switching to cheaper stores such as Aldi and Lidl and “trading down to own brand lines”.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at market analysts Kantar, which compiled the figures, said: “It’s more bad news for the British public, who are experiencing the ninth month of double-digit grocery price inflation. However, shoppers are taking action and clearly hunting around for the best value. Footfall was up in every single grocer this month, with households going to the shops just over four times per week in March. Apart from Christmas, that’s the highest frequency we’ve seen since the start of the pandemic.”