Food inflation may have peaked but still hovering at record high, survey finds
The rapid growth in food prices may have reached its peak as a survey of prices in shops suggested they fell between April and May.
Food inflation fell to 15.4% in the year to May, according to a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen, down from 15.7% in April.
It is still an incredibly high figure, meaning a person who spent around £20 in a food shop a year ago would now be paying a little over £23 for the same items.
The BRC said the slow inflation was driven by lower energy and commodity costs starting to filter through to lower prices of some staples including butter, milk, fruit and fish.
But the price of chocolate and coffee has risen.
Although May’s figure is a little lower than the food inflation seen in April, it is still the second-fastest annual increase the BRC has ever measured.
It added the price of fresh food increased by 17.2% in the year to May, down from 17.8% in April.
However, ambient food inflation - longer-lasting foods that can be stored at room temperature - rose from 12.9% in April to 13.1% in May.
Overall inflation has begun falling and currently sits at 8.7%, but food inflation - as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI) - sits at more than twice that at 19.3%.
The government has said food inflation is "worryingly high" and is considering measures to bring it under control.
Over the weekend various media reports suggested Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is considering implementing price caps on food staples to help with the crisis.
The scheme would aim to get retailers charging the lowest possible amount for some basic products like bread and milk, health secretary Steve Barclay confirmed to ITV News.
Supermarkets are expected to be allowed to select which items they would cap and only take part in the initiative, modelled on a similar agreement in France, on a voluntary basis.According to the BRC survey across all shops on the high street inflation rose from 8.8% to 9% between April and May.
"While overall shop price inflation rose slightly in May, households will welcome food inflation beginning to fall,” said BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson.
Ms Dickinson added: "Fierce competition between supermarkets has helped keep British food among the cheapest of the large European economies.
"While there is reason to believe that food inflation might be peaking, it is vital that government does not hamper this early progress by piling more costs onto retailers and forcing up the cost of goods even further."
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