Supermarkets blame early stockpiling for rising prices

Weekly shop up by as much as £7 as stores remove special offers, amid warnings lack of farm labour could lead to further increases

THE price of a weekly shop has increased by as much as £7 during the lockdown, says an influential market tracker. The data, compiled by The

Grocer magazine and published yesterday, tracked the cost of 33 popular items and found prices at one supermarket had risen by almost 10 per cent in a month.

Experts said much of the recorded increase was down to many supermarkets removing special offers to crack down on stockpiling.

There were concerns that coronavirus could cause price increases in the summer, with farmers warning a lack of labour could also push up costs.

Data from the Office for National Statistics this week showed the cost of a basket of high-demand products, including pet food, paracetamol and nappies, sold online had increased by 1.8 per cent in the last seven days.

Liliana Danila, an economist at the British Retail Consortium, a trade body representing retailers, said it was normal for prices to fluctuate and pointed out that while rice had increased significantly last week, it had seen a dramatic fall the previous week. She said: “Most consumers will continue to benefit from great value in local supermarkets.” In The Grocer tracker, the average increase in all the supermarkets measured was £2.60. Individual items saw larger increases. For example, instant coffee increased by more than £1 (from £4.50 at the end of March to £5.86 today) while laundry detergent rose by £2 (from £7.50 to £9.40) in two months. Analysts said it was too early to say if coronavirus had caused prices to increase or decrease, adding that seasonal fluctuations were normal. Compared with last year, the overall cost of goods tracked by The Grocer had marginally fallen, suggesting the virus was not yet leading to mass price rises. The ONS data has been published each week since the lockdown and showed sustained increases in the price of pet food, nappies and tomato purée. Pet food increased the most last week, at 8.4 per cent.

Trade body the Pet

Food Manufacturers Association said it was unaware of any production issues that may have caused the price to rise and that it was more likely to be a result of supermarkets removing promotions.

The ONS warned its figures were experimental and that some prices would fluctuate week to week.

Several supermarkets removed special offers during the pandemic to stem the surge of panic buying recorded before the lockdown.

This affected the cost of shopping, according to the comparison website latestdeals.co.uk.

Tom Church, the site’s founder, said families had started to feel the pinch. “Many families rely on discounts and special offers to get by. Some people, myself often included, exclusively buy foods on offer. So when those reductions are removed, the average price of your shopping basket goes up.” He added: “I don’t feel supermarkets are unfairly increasing prices, but the removal of deals and discounts, which are now starting to trickle back, can have a huge impact on overall spending.” Separate research by Paypoint, the payment provider, showed that convenience store sales were up 56 per cent yearon-year, with vodka, Red Bull and chocolate among the best selling items. Bread, milk and lavatory rolls had also proved popular, according to the data. Meanwhile, a farmers’ group warned that the cost of fresh produce

could increase this summer unless the industry can fill vacancies for fruitand-veg pickers.

The first flight carrying pickers from Romania landed at Stansted Airport on Thursday as the Government and producers have desperately tried to fill the gaps caused by the global lockdown.

Martin Lines, a farmer in Cambridgeshire and chairman of the Nature Friendly Farming Network, said: “Hopefully there will be no need

for prices to go up, but there may be increased costs for packaging or labour. “[Producers] may find that they have to pay a lot more to get the labour they need.”

The National Farmers Union said that some farms that supplied the hospitality industry had been hit by price cuts and payment delays as the lockdown had forced restaurants largely to close.

It said it was working with producers to make this produce available to the public. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it was working closely with suppliers to ensure that supply chains remained resilient and had relaxed competition laws to allow retailers, suppliers and logistics services to work together to help feed the nation.

A spokesman said: “This Government has absolute confidence in our dedicated farmers – they are working around the clock to keep the nation fed and even stand ready to increase production further if the demand continues to grow.”

Meanwhile, supermarkets said they had been working hard to increase capacity for online deliveries and ensure that shelves were stocked.

Waitrose announced yesterday that it had more than trebled the number of rapid delivery slots it allotted each week. These would allow households to order online and receive their food within two hours, the chain claimed. The service was now available to 2.5million households, it added.

Aldi announced it would start selling food parcels to help those who were vulnerable or self-isolating, a service also being offered by several other supermarket chains.