Comparison table shows huge increases in supermarket items over one year – food inflation highest since 1977
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A newly released price comparison table shows how items at Tesco supermarkets in Wick and Thurso have soared over a year with some costing close to 70 per cent more.
In light of the recent price increases of consumer goods and services, Trading Pedia decided to compare the current prices of some common grocery items with those in March 2023 (see table at bottom of page).
The financial media analyst found that the cost of our shopping basket is 24.6 per cent higher compared to last year. Certain products now cost over 60 per cent more compared to March 2022.
Here are a few key takeaways from the report:
- Although the consumer price index (CPI) for February rose 10.4 per cent year-over-year, the prices of foods and non-alcoholic beverages rose 18 per cent, the highest rate since 1977, according to the Office for National Statistics
- The total price of our food basket would have been £57.50 in March 2022, while now its cost is £71.65, an increase of 24.6 per cent
- Some of the food items cost the same as last year but the vast majority of products have gone up in price, up to 67 per cent more than in 2022
- Certain vegetables such as salad tomatoes and fresh iceberg were out of stock when checked on March 1, 2023
More details can be found in the full report, which features the complete list of products put in the shopping basket.
Shoppers across the UK have also recently had to limit the number of fresh fruit and vegetables in their trolleys, as large supermarket chains rationed their sales of salad vegetables.
Although the annual increase in food prices in January 2023 (16.7 per cent) has slowed down slightly from December 2022, when there was a 16.8 per cent year-over-year rise, staples such as eggs, dairy and meat remained considerably more expensive than they were a year ago.
February’s year-over-year food inflation hit 18 per cent – the highest rate since 1977. This prompted the team at TradingPedia to look at grocery prices in the UK’s largest supermarket chain to find out how they have changed from March 2022. Trading Pedia picked 30 items sold at Tesco and added them to its food basket.
