‘FRUIT IS A LUXURY NOW’ FOR MANY IN UK AND US AS PRICES CONTINUE TO RISE
▶ Salaries have failed to keep up with inflation and some are being forced to take up second jobs to make ends meet
Around the world, the rising cost of living has made it difficult for many to afford basic goods and services.
Millions are struggling to make ends meet as droughts, crop failures and soaring energy prices contribute to rising inflation rates.
Since January, The National has been tracking the prices of food staples in supermarkets across the Middle East and North Africa, as well as in India, the UK and US, to see how consumers have been affected.
Shoppers in the US and UK are increasingly feeling the pinch as inflation keeps the prices of many supermarket staples stubbornly high.
In the UK, prices unexpectedly increased in February after falling for three consecutive months. Inflation rose to 10.4 per cent in February from 10.1 per cent the previous month, driven by rises in the cost of food, clothing and energy.
In the US, inflation fell from a high of more than 9 per cent last spring to 6 per cent in February. Both countries have resorted to raising interest rates in a bid to bring prices down.
American consumers spoke about being forced to make sacrifices to cover the cost of the weekly shopping.
Thiery Koungwe, a college student in Washington, said he noticed an increase in petrol and food prices after Russia invaded Ukraine in February last year.
Demand for oil and gas increased sharply after the Covid-19 pandemic but supply has been limited due to sanctions on Russia, which has driven prices up.
“Everything is expensive, we don’t have enough money to get food,” said Mr Koungwe. “Milk was $2 a litre and now it’s $4.”
He said he received some meals from the university – which gives food to students in need – and relied on vouchers to supplement his supermarket bill.
Virginia resident Maria, who declined to give her second name, said she preferred to buy in bulk, going to smaller markets for urgent necessities and steering clear of bottled water.
“It’s pretty expensive right now,” she said as she shopped in her local Giant store in Arlington. Otherwise she relies on big-box stores such as Costco, where the prices are more competitive.
Michon Curtis, a mother of four, said she was forced to take on a second job and move in with her mother because of higher food prices.
“I’m doing a side hustle, DoorDash [an online food ordering and delivery platform],” she said. “I have four children [all aged] five and under. So that’s very hard, especially the way they increased the [price of] baby formula. It has increased a lot and that’s taken away a lot from our lives.”
Prices of baby formula monitored by The National in Washington increased by almost $10 from January, to $37.99.
Don Fairpairm, who is retired, said he noticed an increase in the price of milk and dog treats, and wondered whether shops were taking advantage of consumers by raising prices.
“Obviously there are inflation pressures, so how much of the price rises are due to real supply issues?” he said.
“I know it’s concerning for people who don’t have enough money to buy groceries, but hopefully it will stabilise, hopefully the Fed [US central bank] will work it out.”
David White, 65, who runs a fruit and vegetable stall in London, spoke about the effects of the cost-of-living crisis.
“Drive around and the roads are empty, there’s not a lot of footfall, it’s like something’s happened and nobody’s told us,” he said.
“People haven’t got as much money as they used to and things like fruit, it used to be a necessity and it’s not any more. It’s got to be a luxury.”
He said many of his colleagues in the fruit and vegetable industry had given up their businesses as a result.
“It’s scary to be honest,” said Mr White, who blamed Brexit, energy and transport costs for the rise in wholesale prices. Lucia Antonio, a 30-year-old mother of two from Angola living in London, said prices for everything now were high.
“I remember, three years ago when I first came, with £50 [$61.70] I could buy many things but now it’s very difficult.”
She would consider using food banks “if I really needed, but right now I manage”.
Food shortages have made the situation worse in Britain, with many supermarket shelves empty.
In February, Tesco, Aldi and Lidl began limiting purchases of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person. Morrisons set a limit of two per customer.
The shortages were due to production problems in Morocco, which began in January with unusually cold night temperatures affecting tomato ripening. Growers and suppliers then had to contend with heavy rain, flooding and cancelled ferries, all of which affected the volumes of produce reaching Britain. Supplies from Britain’s other major winter source, Spain, were also affected by weather and transport issues.
High electricity costs also limited supply as it had become too expensive to grow out-ofseason produce in Britain’s energy-intensive greenhouses.
The restrictions on sales at supermarkets have since been lifted – but prices of staples have kept rising.
Tomato prices rose 6.4 per cent in February compared with the previous month, the second-highest riser in Bloomberg’s Breakfast Index, which tracks the price of a basket of English breakfast items.
The Office for National Statistics said last month that vegetable shortages contributed to a shock increase in the overall rate of inflation, which climbed to 10.4 per cent. Economists had expected the rate to drop below 10 per cent.
Overall, the average cost of products to make a traditional fry-up rose by more than 22 per cent from a year earlier in February. It was the second straight month that the Breakfast Index had increased by more than 20 per cent. The index crunches ONS data on the price of sausages, bacon, eggs,
Drive around and the roads are empty, there’s not a lot of footfall, it’s like something’s happened and nobody’s told us
DAVID WHITE
Fruit and vegetable seller
bread, butter, tomatoes, mushrooms, milk, tea and coffee.
Milk continued to show the most dramatic rise, with a 43 per cent increase from the year before. Bread gained 33 per cent annually and eggs rose 33 per cent, while prices of all the ingredients increased.
The ONS said that, overall, prices in UK supermarkets in February rose at their highest rate since 2005. Shoppers are turning to discounters Aldi and Lidl amid the country’s worst inflation in a generation.
Market research firm Kantar reported UK supermarket prices increased at an annual rate of 17.5 per cent in March, the highest recorded since its survey launched in 2008.
The cost of cheese, eggs and milk rose fastest.
An index compiled by The National shows price increases to a small selection of goods in one mid-market British supermarket. The price of local beef rose from £3.58 per kilogram in January, to £3.98 in February and £4.38 last month.
The cost of many other items, such as bread and milk, remained static, probably due to price guarantees. But last month, an 800g tin of baby formula jumped to £14.50 from £13.50 the previous month.
“Households continued to be squeezed by inflation, driven by food prices and household bills,” said Helen Dickinson, chief executive of the British Retail Consortium.
She said a weaker pound had “made importing products such as vegetables from Europe more expensive”.