Food inflation surges to highest rate on record

Food inflation has surged to 12.4% to hit a new record amid predictions of dampened Christmas cheer and an “increasingly bleak” winter.

Overall shop prices are now 7.4% higher than last November, up from 6.6% in October, to set another record since the British Retail Consortium (BRC) records began in 2005.

But food inflation accelerated considerably further to 12.4% from October’s 11.6% – also the highest rate on record as rocketing energy, animal feed and transport costs forced up prices.

The BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index shows fresh food inflation rose even higher to 14.3%, up from 13.3% last month, driven particularly by the cost of meat, eggs and dairy.

Coffee prices “shot up” as high input costs filtered through to price tags, while Christmas gifting is also set to become more expensive than in previous years with sports and recreation equipment seeing particularly high increases, the BRC said.

Bleak

BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “Winter looks increasingly bleak as pressures on prices continue unabated.

“While there are signs that cost pressures and price rises might start to ease in 2023, Christmas cheer will be dampened this year as households cut back on seasonal spending in order to prioritise the essentials.”

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight at NielsenIQ, said: “With prices still rising, the cost of Christmas will be higher this year and shoppers will be managing their budgets more closely than at any time since the start of the cost-of-living crisis.

“Retailers are now responding by offering seasonal savings and price cuts and will be hopeful of an uptick in shopper spend as we move into December.”