Which? urges Rishi Sunak to act as some food prices double

As crunch talks take place today between the PM and supermarket bosses, Which?'s latest research reveals that some meat, yoghurt and vegetables have doubled in price over the past year.

We've analysed more than 26,000 food and drink prices at eight major supermarkets to see how everyday product prices are changing.

Inflation in categories that have previously seen the highest rises, including milk, butters, spreads and bakery items, has eased slightly, but other essential food groups like meat, fish and vegetables have continued to rise month on month. 

Food inflation overall dips slightly

For the first time since its launch in December, Which?’s tracker now shows overall year-on-year food inflation has started to ease slightly, from 17.2% in the month to the end of March down to 17.1% in April.

However, this masks some areas where food inflation is still rising. 

Supermarket own-label budget items were up 25% in April compared with the same time last year. While these products are still usually the cheapest available, the scale of these price increases demonstrates how low-income shoppers are being hit hard by soaring inflation.

Since last month, the rate of inflation on branded goods showed no change, staying at 13.8%, while regular own-brand food and premium own-brand food inflation decreased slightly.

Last month Which? revealed that essential budget-range items are hardly ever stocked in supermarket-branded convenience stores, even though two-thirds of people with a household income under £21,000 shop in these stores at least once a week.

• Find out more: what's happening to supermarket food prices?

Which are the worst examples? 

On average in the month to the end of April, meat prices were up 15%, fish up 16.5%, yoghurts up 21.8%, and veg up 15.3%.

But looking at averages across a longer three-month period, we found some examples of individual items doubling in price in the space of a year. Here are some of the worst instances we found:

• Aberdoyle Dairies Natural Cottage Cheese 300g at Lidl rose from 67p to £1.34 – a 100.9% increase
• Morliny Frankfurters (350g) at Asda rose from an average of £1.25 to £2.42 – a 93.8% increase
• A four pack of brown onions at Morrisons rose from 65p to £1.24 – a 90.8% increase
• Lancashire Farm Natural Bio Yoghurt 1kg at Morrisons rose from £1.18 to £2.18 – a 85.3% increase
• Own-label salmon tails (260g) at Tesco rose from £3 to £4.54 – a 51.4% increase.

These examples of massive supermarket price hikes on some common food types show how difficult it is, particularly for customers on low incomes, to maintain a healthy diet. Other food categories where inflation continued to rise month on month included juice, chocolate, water, fish, chilled ready meals and cheese.

• Find out more: how to spend less at the supermarket

How do the supermarkets compare for inflation?

Our tracker is the only publicly available measure of how inflation varies between different supermarkets. Here's how it looks this month: 

Remember, inflation is a measure of how quickly prices are rising or falling and not of absolute price. The supermarkets with the highest inflation may also be the cheapest. 

• Find out more: which is the cheapest supermarket?

Which? calls on Prime Minister to take action

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is today holding a summit at Downing Street aimed at tackling and food inflation. 

Which? wants Mr Sunak to challenge supermarket chief executives to do more. They must take urgent action to help consumers cope with rampant food price increases. For example, by ensuring that their convenience stores – relied upon by many low-income households – stock a range of essential budget lines that support a healthy diet, especially in the areas where they're most needed.

Mr Sunak should also ask supermarkets to commit to clearer unit pricing, especially on promotions and loyalty card offers, so that people can easily work out which products offer the best value.

Sue Davies, Which? head of food policy, said: 'It’s very alarming to see products such as meat, cheese and vegetables that people rely on still rapidly soaring in price.

'As the Prime Minister gathers supermarket bosses today to discuss the problem of inflation, we urge him to ask supermarkets to commit to do much more This includes stocking budget lines in convenience stores to ensure easy access to basic, affordable food ranges that support a healthy diet, particularly in areas where people are most in need.

'Supermarkets must also provide transparent pricing so people can easily work out which products offer the best value.'

More than 87,000 supporters have signed Which?’s petition so far calling on the supermarkets to take action.

• Do you want to see your supermarket take action to support you through the cost of living crisis? Sign our Affordable Food For All petition
  

What the supermarkets say

When we put our food inflation findings to the supermarkets, Aldi, Morrisons and Tesco did not comment. 

Asda said: 'All supermarkets have been impacted by global inflationary pressures which has increased the price of key ingredients. We’re working hard to keep prices in check for customers and we remain the lowest-priced major supermarket – a position recognised by Which? in their regular monthly basket comparison, naming Asda as the cheapest supermarket for a big shop every month for the last three years. We’ve recently locked the price of over 500 popular branded and own-label products to give customers more control over what they spend each week.'

Lidl said: 'We’re committed to always offering our customers the best value and are proud that multiple independent price comparisons, including those conducted by Which?, continue to show that a basket of shopping at Lidl is consistently lower than at [most] other supermarkets.'

Ocado said: 'At Ocado, everything we do starts with our customers and we know how important value is to them right now. We continue to support our customers by investing in price across branded and own-brand products. We've also recently introduced the Ocado Price Promise so customers can be sure they’re getting great value.'

Sainsbury’s said: 'We recently announced price cuts to our bread and butter as we work to keep prices low on everyday essentials. We offer a range of juice and yogurt products, which start from 70p and 60p respectively.'

Waitrose said: 'We know that no retailer is immune to the high levels of inflation experienced in the past year, and we’re working hard to keep our prices as low as possible, whilst paying our farmers and suppliers fairly, and maintaining high animal welfare standards.'

• Find out more: best and worst supermarkets compared

About Which?'s food inflation tracker

Which? launched its monthly tracker in December. It tracks tens of thousands of products across eight major supermarkets. The tracker shows rates of inflation overall as well as by supermarket, product category and range.

We publish this data each month in order to showcase how inflation is really hitting customers and to put pressure on the supermarkets to do a better job of supporting customers to keep food on the table.

Which?’s tracker looks at 20 popular categories of food and drink at eight supermarkets — Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose. It compares average prices across the same three-month and one-month periods year-on-year, including discounts but not multibuys or loyalty card offers. Figures are then weighted based on supermarket market share and the sales volume of each product category.