I can’t believe it’s not cheaper!
Price of Lurpak soars to £7.25 and so much cheese is being stolen it needs security tags
The cost of living crisis was laid bare yesterday when the cost of Lurpak spread hit £ 7.25 at Sainsbury’s.
Amid soaring inflation the price of a 750g tub of the popular brand has jumped from £5.90 in a matter of weeks.
And Sainsbury’s chief Simon Roberts warned last night that the pressure on household budgets would ‘ only intensify’.
In another sign of the crisis, supermarket rivals have put security tags on cheese, butter and lamb chops to prevent
‘Inflation is at a 40-year high’
thefts. Inflation is at a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent, with families facing the biggest fall in living standards since records began in 1956.
The price of Lurpak – hit by the rising cost of vegetable oil because of the Ukraine war, as well as rising feed, fertiliser and fuel costs – is 33 per cent higher than this time last year.
households are also having to cope with energy bills that have jumped by 54 per cent this year – increasing bills by an average of £693. They are set to jump a further £800 to an average of £2,800 a year when energy regulator Ofgem raises the price cap in October.
And things could soon be getting even worse, with food price inflation on course to hit 15 per cent this summer according to researchers IGD. Downing Street said ministers would hold televised briefings on the cost of living crisis.
The Bank of england warned the outlook for the UK and global economy has ‘deteriorated materially’ due to inflationary pressures largely stoked by Russia’s invasion.
Yesterday photos emerged of £3.99 blocks of cheddar cheese on the shelves at Aldi fitted with electronic tags. Co-op had £8 lamb chops with tags while Tesco had protected baby milk tins.
Sainsbury’s recently tagged tubs of Aptamil baby, toddler and follow- on milks. A 1kg packet of Lurpak was being sold for £9.35 in one store.
Lurpak is blended with vegetable oils that have soared in price, partly because harvests have been hit by pest damage and bad weather. Andrew Opie of the British Retail Consortium said: ‘The global price of many food commodities is rising, along with energy costs, supply chain costs and tax rises.
The war in Ukraine is putting further pressure on global supply, particularly for wheat, cooking oils and animal feed, leading to higher prices for many staples.’ Tesco has said customers were changing their behaviour to cope with the price rises.