A warning has been issued over the price of four supermarket staples, with these items on track to be 50 per cent higher by the end of the year compared to when the cost of living squeeze began, new research shows.
Price Surge for Everyday Items
Grocery staples such as pasta, frozen vegetables, eggs and beef are all up by between half and 64 per cent. Chris Jaccarini, of the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit, said: “Trump’s war in the Middle East is set to drive shopping bills higher as oil and gas prices spike.”
Impact on Low-Income Families
Anna Taylor, executive director of the Food Foundation, said: “Food prices rising this high and this fast leaves families on the lowest incomes with nowhere left to cut except the food on their plate.”
Consumer Confidence Plummets
It comes after it emerged three million UK households are being forced to skip meals as consumers resort to drastic measures to deal with rising costs, according to a Which? report. The Which? consumer insight tracker for the month to 10 April shows a fall in consumer confidence to -62. Most adults – 71% – believe the UK economy will deteriorate in the next 12 months, with only 9% predicting it will get better.
“Our latest research highlights the deepening strain not only on household finances, but also on people’s physical and social wellbeing as cost-of-living pressures bite,” said Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy. “Without meaningful interventions, the number of people taking drastic measures is likely to increase.”
Calls for Urgent Policy Changes
Which? is calling for urgent policy changes, outlined in a manifesto launched in parliament this week that sets out to address costs and widen access to essential items. “We need to see urgent action, as set in our cost of living manifesto, to address these costs and help restore confidence before even more households are pushed into serious financial difficulty,” Concha said.
