Food inflation hit a record in the UK

According to Fars International Economic Group, quoted by Reuters, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) announced today that food prices in British supermarkets have increased by 15.7% in the year ending April, which is the highest annual increase since 2005. It is considered, but there is a possibility of price reduction.

Overall inflation among UK Retail Consortium members fell to 8.8% from 8.9% in March; Because the increase in the price of non-food items has slowed down due to the sharp reduction in discounts on clothes, shoes and furniture.

The increase in the price of coffee beans and the packaging and production of prepared foods has increased food inflation, but the price of butter and vegetable oil has started to decrease.

Helen Dickinson, director of the British Retail Consortium, said: “We will see food prices fall in the coming months as well as wholesale prices.”

The official measure of UK consumer price inflation reached 11.1% last October, which is the highest figure in more than 40 years. Since then, it has fallen more slowly than the Bank of England had expected, remaining above 10% in March.

The Office for National Statistics’ measure of food price inflation, which is calculated differently from the BRC, was 19.1 per cent, the highest rate since 1977, reflecting higher prices for biscuits, cakes and pastries.

Kantar, a market research company, announced last week that the food inflation rate has decreased to 17.3% in the 4 weeks ending April 16; This figure was equal to 17.5% in the previous month.

Figures from the UK Retail Consortium are based on prices from 1st to 7th April.

The International Monetary Fund predicted last month that the UK economy would shrink by 0.3% this year, which is a big contraction for a major economy.

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