Food prices could rise by 15% over the summer and leave more shoppers skipping meals due to “food stress”, according to grocery analysts.
The Institute of Grocery Distribution (IGD) said in a report that households are set to pay more for essentials including dairy, bread and meat as recent inflation looks set to grow further.
IGD have reported that factors including uncontrolled increases in labour costs, trade disruptions caused by Brexit and the weakening of the sterling against other currencies could be behind the rising inflation rate.
Last month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recorded that inflation hit a 40-year-high at 9%, as food price rises gathered pace.
The research predicted that all consumers will be impacted by rising inflation and a decline in real wages, which could see a family of four increasing their spend on food and groceries from £396 per month to £439 per month.
The group has warned that some families may have to skip meals as inflation continues to rise.
The report also mentioned that the UK economy is facing its “strongest period” of inflationary pressure since the 1970s, with the conflict in Ukraine worsening the impact by restricting supply chains and pushing up grain prices.
This has been compounded by the fact that Ukraine and Russia are both big global grain producers, collectively accounting for nearly a third of global wheat exports.
Products that use grain such as bread and products containing meat from animals fed on grain, for example chicken, are to increase in price over summer and autumn as a result, said the IGD.
James Walton, the chief economist at IGD, said: “From our research, we are unlikely to see the cost of living pressures easing soon.
“This will undoubtedly leave many households, and the businesses serving them, looking to the future with considerable anxiety.
“We are already seeing households skipping meals, a clear indictor of food stress.
“We expect the mood of shoppers to remain bleak for the foreseeable future as they are impacted by rising inflation and a decline in real wages.
“Shoppers are likely to dial up money-saving tactics as far as possible.”
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here