Food inflation reached a record high in November due to egg shortages. Meanwhile, rising milk and meat prices will cause Christmas dinner costs to rise sharply.
According to the British Retail Consortium (BRC), food prices rose 12.4pc compared with a year ago. This is an acceleration from the annual rate of 11.6pc recorded in October.
November’s reading was the highest recorded food inflation rate since 2005, according to records. According to the BRC, the rise was caused by an increase in the price of eggs, milk and meat.
A half dozen medium Burford Brown eggs from Waitrose are now priced at £2.90, as opposed to £2.65 a few weeks ago. Four pints of semi-skimmed milk, on the other hand, now costs just £1.65, as opposed to £1.45 this summer.
As farmers pay more for rising energy, feed, and staff costs, prices are on the rise.
Egg prices are particularly high in times of national shortage, which makes it difficult for eggs to keep up with inflation. Rising costs have made it harder for laying hens, and the worst-ever epidemic of deadly Avian Flu has led to a reduction in flock size.
While mainstream media highlights "Egg shortage helps drive food inflation to a new record high" No mention of UK supermarkets not paying fair trade prices for eggs – lack support for British Farmers 🇬🇧 #fairtrade #fairtradeforfarmers pic.twitter.com/4tXcC8PHka https://t.co/f9ZrKZTENu
— Share_Talk ™ (@Share_Talk) November 30, 2022
Waitrose pledges a £2.6 million investment in its egg suppliers, as it is one of few supermarkets that does not impose purchase limits.
Marks & Spencer, and Morrisons are the latest grocers joining Tesco, Asda, and Lidl in rationing boxes sales as the effects of rising costs and bird influenza continue to take their toll.
Waitrose stated that it does not intend to put such restrictions in place and added that there is a “strong availability of British-free-range eggs” available online and in its shops.
Sainsbury’s as well as the Co-op did not set limits. The Co-op said it will continue to monitor the situation.
Waitrose announced that it is £2.6m investment in farmers will be used to help them offset rising production costs like energy and feed.
