The price of staple foods has shot up by between 18 and 59 per cent over the past three years, as world supply problems push up costs.
The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations has reported that food prices have risen by an average of 83 per cent over the past ten years.
New research by price comparison site mySupermarket.com has found that prices in the UK of bread and eggs have increased by 18 per cent over the past three years, while tea has risen by 30 per cent and the cost of rice has increased by 59 per cent since 2007.
This increase has been blamed on global problems after drought wiped out crops in China and Russia, two of the world’s largest agricultural producers.
Meat prices are also rising, with consumers paying ten per cent more on average.
MySupermarket spokesman Jonny Steel said: ‘While prices have stabilised or even gone down over the past year, the cost of everyday essentials has still dramatically increased over the last three years.
‘Consumers may feel that they are starting to bounce back from the effects of the most recent recession, but effectively they are forking out up to 59% more for some shopping items than they were three years ago.’
The mySupermarket survey also found that baby food has increased by 21 per cent, and baby milk and drinks have risen by 29 per cent over the past three years.
Wheat prices have hit a 37-year high after wildfires and a severe drought ravaged cereal crops in Russia.
Volatility returned to the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) wheat futures market yesterday, as traders contemplated supply issues after drought affected much of the crop in eastern Europe’s Black Sea region.
Russia has halted wheat exports, and most concern is focused on how long this situation will last. Also on traders’ minds is the state of the wheat market in Kazakhstan and Ukraine, which may, or may not, follow Russia’s example and restrict exports.
Meanwhile, a new joint report from the OECD and the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation forecasts wheat and coarse grain prices over the next ten years will increase by between 15 per cent and 40 per cent in real terms, once adjusted for inflation, compared to their average levels during the 1997-2006 period.
Real prices for vegetable oils are expected to be more than 40 per cent higher and dairy prices are projected to be between 16-45 per cent higher, according to the joint report, which warns of rising hunger and food insecurity.
l Rail fares may rise by up to eight per cent next year if the Department for Transport (DfT) is hit hard by cuts following the government’s spending review, Whitehall officials have warned.
While many rail fare rises are currently capped at inflation plus one per cent, this could rise to two per cent or three per cent in the face of transport budget cuts.
Increases are based on July’s Retail Price Index measure, expected to be five per cent, which could mean increases of up to eight per cent.
Consumer watchdog Passenger Focus called on train operators to show restraint.
RMT Rail union General Secretary Bob Crow said: ‘The private rail companies have ripped off billions in profits and subsidies from their franchises since the mid-nineties and it is clear that the government are bending to their pressure and are prepared to protect them from the cuts by allowing fares to shoot through the roof.
‘Private rail profits will be ring-fenced while the travelling public are forced to pay through the nose to travel on overcrowded cattle trucks on dangerously under-maintained tracks.’
