Food prices driven up by high meat and tea costs | UK News

Rising meat and tea prices have helped drive up food price inflation for the sixth consecutive month, a survey suggests.

Food prices rose by 4% in the year to July, up from a 3.7% increase in the year to June, according to the latest shop price monitor from the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The BRC’s chief executive Helen Dickinson said tighter global supplies for staples including meat and tea have hit wholesale prices hard.

The new figures echo separate research published last week, which found household grocery bills were on course to rise by £275 this year.

The BRC survey found inflation – the rate at which prices rise – for fresh food including fruit and vegetables remained at 3.2% in the year to July, but inflation for cupboard goods increased to 5.1% over the same period.

Ms Dickinson said families will have noticed their higher food bills.

“Staples such as meat and tea were hit the hardest as wholesale prices for both categories have been hit by tighter global supplies. This has helped push up overall shop prices,” she said.

Andrew Keeble, managing director and founder of Heck Sausages, told the ‘s Today programme there had been a “perfect storm” of factors driving up the price of beef and chicken in particular.

He said chicken prices alone have risen in the past two years from £2.85 a kilo to £5.50, driven by a combination of avian flu and lower stock intensity, which has meant reducing the number of chickens in each shed.

“That a good thing, we fully support it but you get fewer chickens in a shed [and] there aren’t enough sheds to put it bluntly and that is driving availability prices through the roof at the moment,” Mr Keeble said.

He added that his company was trying not to pass on the added costs to retailers, and supermarkets were also trying to keep costs down for shoppers.

However, he said “I think it just gets to the point where this is now actually coming through and that’s why you’re now seeing those increases.”

Increasing food prices added to the higher than expected increase to UK inflation in the year to June.

The latest official figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) put UK inflation – as measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI) – at 3.6%, up from 3.4% in May.

According to the ONS, prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by 4.5% in the year to June, the highest rate since February 2024.

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NIQ, said increasing inflation would concern High Street retailers hoping to retain customers over the summer holiday season.

“Consumers’ household budgets are coming under pressure with the food retailers now seeing price increases above CPI,” he said.

“However, price competition helped by promotional activity will still mean that shoppers can save money by shopping around.

Ms Dickson said there were “a few bright spots” in the research, “with discounts in fashion and furniture offering consumers a chance to refresh their wardrobe and homes.”

Overall shop price inflation increased to 0.7% from 0.4% in June, and up from the three-month average of 0.3%.

Last week, separate research from Worldpanel by Numerator found that food prices had risen by 5.2% compared to last year, led by price increases for chocolate, butter, spreads and fresh meat.