Consumers in the UK are facing significantly larger increases in the price of some cheap foods, such as pasta, chips and bread, show new experimental data as poorer families bear the brunt of the crisis of the cost of living.
Highlighting the challenge for low-income households, figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (ONS) showed that the prices of some low-cost groceries rose at a much faster rate than general inflation during the year. year to April.
The price of pasta jumped more than a basket of 30 staple foods collected by government statisticians, an increase of 50% over the previous year, more than five times the general inflation rate of 9% during the same period.
The figures also highlighted increases in inflation prices above the average for fries (17%), bread (16%), minced meat (16%) and rice (15%).
Food price chart
The ONS decided to collect the experimental data, tracking changes in the price of low-cost daily groceries sold by online supermarkets, after anti-poverty activist Jack Monroe highlighted the risks facing households poorer in the UK due to much faster budget price increases. branded items.
However, the ONS said it found that the overall inflation rate of the 30 daily groceries it selected was around 6%, roughly the same as the average inflation rate of 6.7% for food and non-alcoholic beverages last year, with the price of some cheap food items such as potatoes, cheese and pizza, which fell during the period.
Monroe, who held talks with the ONS to collect the data, praised the release of the figures, saying they supported their own research and testing from January. “The increases in value brands and basics have far outstripped the average inflation statistics,” he tweeted.
“As I’ve said for 10 years, and as many others have pointed out before + by my side, it’s MUCH more expensive to be poor. And now literal experts in data collection and statistics give it in a useful, methodical and forensic way. “This seems like a lot of progress.”
An analysis by the Institute of Tax Studies suggests that the increase in gas and electricity bills expected this October could lead to average annual inflation rates of up to 14% for a tenth of the poorest households. compared to 8% for the richest. This is because lower-income households spend a larger share of their budgets on commodities such as food and energy than richer households.
The UK inflation rate in April reached its highest rate since 1982 against a backdrop of rising world energy prices, exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine. The Bank of England has warned that the measure for the annual jump in the cost of living could reach 10% by the end of the year.
With the government facing strong pressure on managing the cost-of-living crisis, Rishi Sunak last week announced a £ 15bn package of financial support for lower-income households.
According to the new ONS snapshot, the lowest average price of 13 out of 30 groceries, collected from internet prices at seven retailers, rose at a faster rate than the official measure of food inflation and non-alcoholic beverages.
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In cash, the largest price increases, on average, were measured for minced meat (32 p. 500 to £ 2.34) and chicken breast (28 p. £ 3.50 per 600 g ). Pasta prices rose 17 per cent, while vegetable oil rose 14 per cent. and potatoes and rice in 12 p.
However, some low-cost items fell in price, such as a 14% drop in potatoes and a 7% drop in the price of cheese, as well as pizza (4%) and chips and sausages (3%).
The sharp rise in the price of pasta and bread comes amid fears that Russia’s war in Ukraine could exacerbate world food poverty by raising the cost of wheat and other key agricultural commodities that the two countries normally export in large quantities. . Russia is the world’s largest exporter of wheat, while Ukraine, known as the “bread basket of Europe”, is the fifth largest.