Surge in vegetable prices expected over Christmas

UK retailer Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts has said that rising wages and high energy costs could delay any cuts in food prices, according to a report by The Times. However, he said that food inflation is consistently coming down, adding that at Sainsbury’s, inflation “has been running about half the headline rates of the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.”

Iceland Foods’ management told investors last week that by the end of its financial year in March, it expects food prices to rise between 4% to 6%. Morrisons chief, David Potts, has also said that while the worst of food inflation is over, he warned that vegetable lines were likely to surge in price ahead of Christmas. He anticipates a 4% to 6% increase in some food prices as the festive season approaches.

Official figures from the consumer price index found that food inflation hit a high of 19.1% in March, however this has continued to fall since, reaching 12.1% in September. According to the Bank of England, food inflation is expected to fall to 5% in the first three months of 2024.