Tuesday June 17 2008
The average cost of a weekly supermarket shop for a family of four has increased by 21% over the past year, according to latest figures.
Official inflation figures this morning showed the cost of food and non-alcoholic drink prices were up 7.8% since last June - the biggest annual increase since 1997.
But figures from price comparison website mySupermarket suggest some families have seen their shopping bills increase by much more.
Its latest analysis of 24 staple items sold in the UK's three biggest supermarkets shows a 21% increase in prices since this time last year.
Based on this figure, a family of four spending £100 a week on groceries last year would this year be paying £121 - a total of £1,092 more over the course of 12 months.
Rising grain prices have pushed up the price of wheat-based products, such as bread, and dairy products, as farmers have passed on the increase in animal food costs to consumers.
Among the 24 basics monitored by mySupermarket, rice showed the biggest price increase, with the cost of a 1kg bag of basmati rice shooting up by 93.3% in Tesco, Sainsbury's and Asda to around 79p.
Meanwhile, the cost of 12 medium free-range eggs is up 47.4% from last year, at £2.58, according to the figures, while a loaf of bread costs around 20% more than in June last year.
Worryingly for shoppers looking for healthy items for their trolley, the survey shows the price of fruit and vegetables has also increased, with Asda customers now paying 67% more for a bag of garden peas than they did last June.
Across the items monitored, only wafer thin turkey ham costs less than last year at all three supermarkets, while the price of sugar has fallen by more than 10% at both Tesco and Sainsbury's.
Johnny Stern, director of mySupermarket, said: "Once again, we're seeing a significant price increase in shopper's staple items. Unfortunately, prices of staples overall are going up, although elsewhere in the supermarket there are some product prices which have been cut.
"We would advise shoppers trying to stick to a tight budget to look out for better priced like-for-like items and special offers within the supermarket you already shop at - there are significant and regular savings to be had to combat the crunch."
Source:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/money/2008/jun/17/familyfinance.consumeraffairs1 |
