Chief Executive of the Food and Drink Federation Karen
Betts said:
“Today's continuing rise in the price of everyday food and drink
is worrying - particularly for lower income households. Food and
drink manufacturers are working hard to keep prices down but are
being hit hard by rising energy, ingredient and logistics costs,
which for the moment show no signs of abating, alongside dealing
with acute labour shortages.
“It's becoming increasingly difficult for companies - large
and small - to remain competitive and upcoming regulation is
compounding the situation. This puts a premium on good
collaboration between government and industry to guarantee that
planned regulation is successful and does not place unnecessary
burdens on businesses at an already challenging
time.”
Additional information:
- Today’s food and non-alcoholic drink price rise of 4.3% is
the largest in nearly 10 years.Annual food and non-alcoholic
drink inflation accelerated to 4.3% in January from 4.2% in
December. This is the largest increase since September 2013.
However, it runs below headline inflation of 5.5%.
- All food and drink categories are more expensive than a year
ago: prices of oils and fats are 15.9% higher, of fruit by 6.9%,
and of coffee, tea and cocoa by 4.9%.
- Manufacturers are working hard to avoid passing these
increases in costs on to consumers through greater efficiency,
forward buying and the use of hedging arrangements to protect
against currency shifts.
- In the FDF’s Food Prices
Report published in July 2021, it was predicted that
additional costs to industry from UK Government regulation will
lead to an annual increase of food and drink shopping per
household of £160. That increase will prove even higher at
current inflation rates.
- In 2020, the poorest 10% of UK households spent 14% of their
disposable income on food and non-alcoholic beverages, in
contrast to 11% for the average UK household and 8% for the
richest 10% of households.
