UK inflation spike driven by vegetable shortage

 Restaurants and cafes, food, and clothing were the categories providing the largest contributions to the monthly change.

The country’s vegetable shortage and rising farming costs are partly responsible for the rise, as the spiralling input costs are leading to fewer growers.

The ONS said: ”The largest upward effect came from vegetables, where prices rose in the month to February 2023 by more than a year earlier. There have been media reports of shortages of salad produce and other vegetables, reportedly because of bad weather in southern Europe and Africa, and the impact of higher electricity prices on produce grown out of season in greenhouses in the UK and northern Europe. These price movements resulted in an annual rate of 18.0 per cent for vegetables in the year to February 2023, the highest rate since February 2009.”