Food inflation accelerated strongly to 10.6% in September, up from 9.3%, the highest rate of inflation in the food category on record, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index.
The data shows fresh food inflation strongly accelerated in September to 12.1%, up from 10.5% in August, the highest inflation rate in the fresh food category on record.
In addition, ambient food inflation accelerated to 8.6% in September, up from 7.8% in August, marking the fastest rate of increase in the ambient food category on record.
Mike Watkins, Head of Retailer and Business Insight at NielsenIQ, said: “With food and household energy prices continuing to rise, it’s no surprise that NielsenIQ data shows that 76% of consumers are saying they expect to be moderately or severely affected by the cost-of-living crisis over the next three months, up from 57% in the summer. So households will be looking for savings to help manage their personal finances this autumn and we expect shoppers to become more cautious about discretionary spend, adding to pressure in the retail sector.”
Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, added: “With costs mounting across the board, September saw shop price inflation hit yet another high. The war in Ukraine continued to drive up the price of animal feed, fertiliser and vegetable oil, causing fresh food inflation to rise significantly over the past few months, particularly for products such as margarine. While the summer drought diminished some harvests, other produce benefitted from the prolonged sunshine, helping to bring down prices for fruits such as strawberries, blueberries, and tomatoes.”
