According to new data, British families already struggling with the cost of living problem now have to deal with skyrocketing shop prices driven by an increase in the price of basic groceries.
Data demonstrates how families are now cutting into their budgets by having to pay more for their weekly groceries, which comes at a time when Britons are already feeling the pinch from high heating expenses and fuel price rises.
Some of the most significant price hikes over the past year have been noticed on pantry essentials like milk, butter, and spaghetti.
According to data from Trolley.co.uk’s Grocery Price Index, spreadable butter is now 22.9 percent more expensive than it was in June of last year, while the average cost of milk is now 18.7% higher than it was then.
It comes after it was discovered that a large grocery chain was suddenly charging more than £7 for tubs of the well-known butter brand Lurpak.
Over the past year, prices for basic essentials like bread and spaghetti have also increased.
Since June of last year, the typical pack of spaghetti has increased in price by 27p to £1.46, while bread has increased in price by 10p.
According to data from Trolley.co.uk, other pantry staples like beans, cheese, and eggs have all experienced double digit percentage growth since June of last year.
The average 20-item shopping basket now costs £4.29 more than it did a year ago, according to a MailOnline investigation.
The typical basket, which consists of everyday necessities including food and toiletries, now costs £67.07. The same basket of goods cost £62.78 last year.
The average price of a 20-item basket grew most at the low-cost retailer Iceland.
The findings show that an average Iceland basket, which cost £60.62 last year, now costs £67.90, an increase of £7.28 over the previous 12 months.
The average price of a grocery basket increased by £4.57 at Asda, one of the biggest increases.
With a basket costing £61.29, it was still the least expensive supermarket when compared to competitors Tesco, Sainsbury’s, and Morrisons.
Dairy items have seen some of the highest price hikes; since June of last year, the prices of milk, cheese, and butter have all increased significantly.
And there are worries that there may be further increases. Sainsbury’s raised the price of a two-pint carton of milk over the weekend from £1.05 on Friday to £1.15, an increase of 10%.
Asda, Morrisons, and Aldi are now all offering the same size of milk for £1.15, as were other stores.
Trolley’s £1.59 price is higher since it is a supermarket-wide average and includes larger sizes like 6 pint bottles, which can cost up to £2.
This news coincides with a warning from dairy juggernaut Arla Foods, which owns the Lurpak, Cravendale, and Anchor brands, that a persistent shortage of appropriately skilled farm staff is already lowering productivity and driving up food prices.
The company claims that more than 500 of its 2,100 owned farms participated in a study that revealed that 80% of farmers looking for labour had gotten “extremely few” or “zero” applications from people with the necessary skills or experience.
More than three-fifths (61.3%) of farmers are finding it harder to hire now than in 2019, according to the company, which has blamed a number of causes including the end of free movement of workers from the EU, the fallout from the pandemic, and more.
According to the report, milk volume has decreased by about 3% since last year.
And it issues a warning that if nothing changes, 11% of its farmers may decide to completely give up farming in the upcoming year.
It follows internet images that earlier this month showed a 750g pack of Lurpak lightly salted spreadable butter priced for £7.20 in Sainsbury’s.
According to Arla, a fair deal for farmers was one of the reasons for the price increase.
The average cost of spreadable butter has grown by 70p over the past 12 months, according to research from Trolley.co.uk.
The average tub now costs £3.76, an increase of 22.9% from the previous year.
Other significant price rises include the cost of everyday items like toilet paper, which has increased by 13.6% from £4.47 to £5.08.
Additionally, there have been modest price increases for toothpaste and shampoo of about 2% and 1%, respectively.
Washing powder is the only domestic item in MailOnline’s 20-item shopping basket to experience a price decrease; it is now, on average, 1p less expensive than it was a year ago.
A typical bag of potatoes now costs 8p more than it did in June, while fruit now costs 12p more.
The price of fruit and vegetables, such as potatoes, has also increased by about 6% since June of last year.
According to a review of data from Trolley.co.uk, Asda is still the cheapest supermarket in terms of prices.
The data doesn’t contain enough items to compare with discount shops Lidl and Aldi, who frequently compete for first place on Whichlist ?’s of the cheapest supermarkets.
Asda currently charges £61.29 for a 20-item total basket, which is cheaper than Tesco (£66.67), Sainsbury’s (£66.03), and Morrison’s (£63.85).
However, Asda also had one of the greatest cost increases, of 8%, with the same basket costing £56.27 a year ago.
The highest increase, of 12%, was in Iceland, where a basket went from £60.62 to £67.90 in a year, an increase of £7.28.
According to data from Trolley.co.uk, Sainsbury’s experienced the smallest increase (£2.46), followed by Co-Op (£2.84), whose average basket increased from £59.82 to £62.66, making it one of the least expensive of its competitors.
It comes after data company Kantar predicted a £380 annual increase in the typical household shopping spend.
The four weeks ending June 12 saw a significant increase in grocery price inflation, from 7% in May to 8.3%, the highest level since April 2009, according to the most recent statistics from Kantar.
The average yearly shopping spend is now expected to rise by £380 to £4,960 in 2022 due to the skyrocketing prices of food and consumables, up more than another £100 since April alone, according to Kantar.
Rising inflation is a major issue for both customers and retailers, according to Andrew Opie, Director of Food & Sustainability at the British Retail Consortium, which represents retail establishments including supermarkets.
Along with growing energy prices, supply chain expenses, and tax rates, many food items are becoming more expensive on a worldwide scale.
“The war in Ukraine is further straining the world’s supply, especially for wheat, cooking oils, and animal feed, which is driving up the cost of numerous essentials.”
Retailers are adamant about helping their customers with the expense of life despite these obstacles, so they’ve expanded their value ranges, kept the cost of necessities low, and started offering discounts to vulnerable populations.
A representative for Arla stated: “Households are under significant pressure due to the cost of living pinch.”
Less milk is being produced as a result of the high cost of producing milk, which has reached an all-time high, and our farmers’ struggles to pay their bills.
In order to lessen the impact on customers, we and our retail partners are absorbing as much of the costs associated with the goods that farmers need, such as animal feed, fuel, and fertilizer.
To ensure that our farmers can continue to supply goods to the stores, however, some of the cost increases that we are witnessing on farms are so significant that we do have to pass some of them on.
It comes as a new poll reveals that, in the midst of the biggest cost-of-living crisis since the 1970s, more than a third of Britons are “struggling financially.”
In the “wealth and wellbeing” poll of 4,000 people conducted by the insurance company LV= last month, 53% of adults reported that their financial situation has gotten worse over the past three months.
According to LV=, the results are the most depressing since June 2020, when its quarterly survey first started. Many Britons anticipate things to grow worse; 43% anticipate a decline in their financial situation over the coming few months.
Market experts Kantar have identified butter, milk, beef, and dog food as the main offenders, with supermarket costs rising at the quickest rate in 13 years.
A perfect storm of increased post-pandemic demand, rising energy, fuel, and transportation costs—made worse by the invasion of Ukraine and the ensuing grain shortage—has led to the current scenario.
Six in ten Brits reported that their overall monthly expenses had gone up over the preceding three months, adding to their financial troubles, while three in ten (30%) reported that their savings had decreased over the same time period.
While 31% have been forced to cut back on their socializing budget, nearly six in ten (58%) have experienced a rise in their grocery spending.
More than one-third (36%) of the UK people polled claimed they were “struggling” with money, and according to LV=, this number has gone up each quarter over the previous year.
A staggering 38% of people (including 46% of people between the ages of 18 and 34) and 44% of parents with children under 10 have financial worries.
“The results of the current LV= Wealth and Wellbeing Monitor demonstrate how the finances of millions of people are being squeezed by the significant increase in the cost of living,” said Clive Bolton, managing director of protection, savings, and retirement at LV.
Since we began polling consumers during the coronavirus pandemic, the savings, financial outlook, and outgoings indices have never been worse, and they are much worse than they were during the gloomy COVID-19 era.
Between spring until the beginning of the fall of 2021, consumer sentiment had been slowly rising, but the sudden increase in living expenses has shaken their confidence.
“Millions of individuals report financial difficulties, and living standards are dropping all over the nation.”
Many families with young children and low-income households are struggling as a result of rising energy costs.
In addition, the same percentage of people are skipping meals in an effort to save money, according to a second study of 4,000 families conducted by the research firm Kantar, which revealed that 56% are buying less groceries as a result of rising prices.
Since December, the popular coffee shop Costa has increased its prices twice, with a small cappuccino now costing an outrageous £3.05.
According to experts, a large portion of the rises are the result of growing farming expenses, with fuel, animal feed, and fertilizer all costing more now than they did six months ago.
These are being transferred to consumers through suppliers like supermarkets and coffee cafes, driving up the cost of necessities.
These expenses may be traced back to the February invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which has had an impact on energy costs, supply chains, and commodities shipped from both nations, including wheat, corn, and sunflower oil as well as construction materials and computer chips.
When you add all of that to the pandemic’s aftermath, which brought about global shortages, production freezes, and personnel issues, it makes sense why our food costs are so high.
Concerningly, Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts issued a warning yesterday, stating that the impact of rising costs “will only worsen over the balance of the year.”
The effects of this will extend longer than I’m sure the majority of people anticipated, he continued.
“The cost of fuel, food, fertilizer, and labour have all increased.”
We are experiencing significant cost consequences, and they won’t go away tomorrow.
In the days and months ahead, a package of cost-of-living support measures will go into effect in an effort to provide relief to some of the hardest hit.
On July 14, cost-of-living payments will start to arrive in the bank accounts of more than eight million households.
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has stated that beginning on that day, low-income households receiving benefits will begin receiving a first instalment of £326.
This fall, the second half of the one-time £650 payment will be made.
In order to help their households pay for the growing cost of energy this winter, pensioner households will also get an additional £300 payment, and recipients of disability payments will receive an additional £150 payment in September.
Households will start saving £400 on their energy bills in October.
The National Insurance (NI) payment threshold was also raised this week to £12,570, so many people will experience an increase in income in their July paychecks.
The controversial 1.25 percentage point hike in NI earlier this year to pay for health and social services was followed by this, though.
As earnings climb, more people are being forced to pay greater taxes due to static income tax thresholds, according to recent commentary.