Firms may be hiking prices beyond inflation - Tesco boss

Some nutrient firms whitethorn beryllium utilizing ostentation arsenic an excuse to hike prices further than necessary, the president of Tesco has said.

Asked by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg if nutrient producers were taking vantage of the poorest successful society, John Allan said it was "entirely possible".

He said Tesco was "trying to mitigate terms rises" with measures specified arsenic own-label alternatives.

The outgo of nutrient including beverage and food are astatine their highest since 1977.

Mr Allan said supermarkets were challenging outgo increases wherever they could - and confronting those that were not legitimate.

Millions of radical proceed to conflict with the outgo of surviving which roseate steadily arsenic Covid restrictions eased and aft Russia launched its battle connected Ukraine.

Inflation, which measures the complaint of terms rises, fell to 10.5% successful the twelvemonth to December from 10.7% successful November - but remains astatine levels not seen for 40 years.

Food prices roseate 16.8% successful the twelvemonth to December, said the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Basics specified arsenic milk, food and eggs saw the biggest increases. Prices for jam, chromatic and cocoa besides jumped. However, terms maturation slowed for breadstuff and cereals.

Consumer radical Which? has besides been tracking however overmuch large retailers person enactment up their prices compared with their competitors.

Tesco was sixth successful the database of supermarkets with the highest terms rises, the radical said.

Which?'s supermarket nutrient and portion ostentation tracker records the yearly terms rises of tens of thousands of nutrient and portion products crossed 3 months astatine 8 large supermarkets - Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury's, Tesco and Waitrose.

It recovered that contempt being the cheapest supermarkets overall, Lidl's prices went up the astir successful December astatine 21.1% since this clip past year, followed intimately by Aldi astatine 20.8%.