Sainsbury's and Unilever deny prices are too high

Marmite-maker Unilever and supermarket Sainsburys person rejected suggestions that they are not protecting customers from rising prices.

It comes aft the Office for National Statistics (ONS) told the BBC that falls successful planetary nutrient prices were not yet being reflected successful supermarkets.

Unilever said it was not "profiteering successful immoderate form" from rising prices.

Sainsburys said it had spent millions connected lowering prices and was "determined to conflict inflation".

The outgo of surviving has surged recently, with nutrient prices astir a 5th higher successful March than a twelvemonth earlier - the biggest specified emergence since 1977.

However, wholesale nutrient prices person started to autumn with the World Bank saying it expected them to driblet 8% by the extremity of this year.

Supermarkets accidental specified falls instrumentality clip to scope supermarket shelves. But successful March the Unite national accused immoderate supermarkets of "fuelling ostentation by excessive profiteering".

In January, Tesco president John Allan suggested suppliers whitethorn beryllium astatine fault, telling the BBC it was "entirely possible" that they were utilizing precocious ostentation arsenic an excuse to rise prices unnecessarily.

But connected Thursday, Unilever boss, Alan Jope dismissed specified suggestions to reporters, saying the institution was lone passing connected 3 quarters of the higher costs it was facing.

"We are precise conscious that the user is hurting and that's wherefore we are not passing done the afloat terms increases and are asking shareholders to carnivore immoderate of the burden," Mr Jope said.

It came arsenic the user goods giant, which besides makes Ben & Jerry's crystal cream, reported a 10.5% emergence successful income successful the archetypal 3 months of the year.

The better-than-expected fig was driven by terms hikes, with the institution lifting prices by 10.7% implicit the period.

Separately, the brag of Sainsbury's said the concatenation would walk connected immoderate falls successful the terms of goods arsenic soon arsenic it could and was "absolutely determined to conflict ostentation for our customers".

However, Simon Roberts said wide terms falls were not apt to travel soon arsenic vigor and labour costs continued to rise.

It came arsenic the UK's 2nd largest market concatenation reported a better-than-expected 5% autumn successful underlying profits to £690m and a near-6% emergence successful income successful the twelvemonth to March.

The warfare successful Ukraine has driven up nutrient prices astir the world, but the UK has faced different problems connected apical of this - from Brexit reddish portion to labour shortages.

This twelvemonth successful particular, atrocious upwind overseas led to shortages of immoderate vegetables - a concern made worse by UK farmers producing little owed to surging vigor costs.

UK farmers person besides argued that supermarkets are not paying a just terms for their nutrient - thing the supermarkets deny.

Last week, the British Retail Consortium - which represents grocers - said determination was a 3 to nine-month lag to spot terms falls reflected successful shops.

"As nutrient accumulation costs peaked successful October 2022, we expect user nutrient prices to commencement coming down implicit the adjacent fewer months," it said.