Food price inflation reached a 10-year high in May, according to figures released on Wednesday.
The BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index showed that shop price annual inflation accelerated to 2.8% from 2.7% in April, marking the highest rate of inflation since July 2011.
Meanwhile, food inflation reached 4.3% in May, up from 3.5% in April and marking the highest rate since April 2012. Fresh Food inflation rose 4.5% from 3.4%, while ambient food inflation pushed up to 4% in May from 3.5% a month earlier.
BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Retail prices edged up further as commodity, energy and transport costs continued to climb. Fresh food inflation hit its highest rate in a decade, with items like poultry and margarine seeing some of the largest increases due to soaring costs of animal feed and near-record global food prices.
“Retailers have been working hard to protect their customers from these rising costs, particularly at a time when households are being impacted by a huge rise in household energy bills.
“It is likely to get worse before it gets better for consumers with prices continuing to rise and a further jump in energy costs coming in October. With little sign that the cost burden on retailers will ease any time soon, they will be left with little room for manoeuvre, especially those whose supply chains are affected by lockdowns in China and the war in Ukraine.”
