Kitchen cupboard staples have
jumped in price over the last month, and further hikes are set to come, an
industry body is warning.
Bread and baked goods have risen
after a 47 per cent jump in the cost of wheat, while a 61 per cent rise in the
cost of corn has hit meat prices as animal feed costs soar.
Vegetable oil and margarine showed
double-digit price hikes, while fruit showed its biggest price increases since
April 2009 following poor harvests and increased transportation costs.
Overall food prices in October were
4.4 per cent higher than a year ago, the highest annual increase since June
2009, according to the British Retail Consortium, which compiled the figures.
The BRC warned that more increases
were on the way due to higher VAT in January and because many retailers have
been shielding consumers from price hikes.
BRC economist Richard Lim said that
some of the commodity price rises were “still in the pipeline”.
“We are probably going to see
food price inflation continue to rise for the next few months but we don’t
expect it to reach the levels it did in 2008,” he said.
Wheat prices have soared as a
result of poor harvests in several countries, including Russia, which banned
its export, he added.
Meanwhile, cotton prices have
already increased by 90 per cent in the past year, although the average price
of clothing and footwear decreased by 1.4 per cent as retailers slashed their
profits to attract consumers.
As high street retailer Next released
its third quarter trading figures, the firm warned that there was no sign of an
end to the bubble in cotton prices and said it expected price tags to rise by
close to 8 per cent.
Non-food items rose by 1.1 per cnet
despite an increase in VAT during the year and the overall inflation rate for
goods in shops rose to 2.2 per cent.
Related Videos
