Supermarkets under pressure to explain high prices

Supermarket executives volition beryllium questioned by MPs connected Tuesday implicit wherefore nutrient prices are inactive rising arsenic immoderate wholesale costs are falling.

The UK's biggest grocers - Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Morrisons - volition look a parliamentary committee examining the outgo of a play shop.

The terms of goods continues to turn but not arsenic steeply arsenic successful caller months, according to the latest figures.

Food ostentation reached 14.6% successful June the British Retail Consortium said.

That is down from 15.4%% successful the twelvemonth to May.

British Retail Consortium main enforcement Helen Dickinson said: "If the existent concern continues, nutrient ostentation should driblet to azygous digits aboriginal this year."

And with galore hard-pressed households besides facing rising rents oregon owe costs, determination is unit connected the supermarkets to support the precocious outgo of shopping.

On Tuesday, MPs volition grill elder supermarket bosses astir nutrient and substance terms inflation, asking if prices volition travel down this year.

Politicians, trades unionists and the politician of the Bank of England person each questioned wherefore prices connected supermarket shelves person not fallen arsenic rapidly arsenic the outgo of immoderate ingredients specified arsenic wheat.

They person suggested that retailers whitethorn beryllium failing to walk connected savings and are banking the nett instead.

The Competition and Markets Authority is examining the issue.

Supermarkets contradict they are profiteering from precocious prices and assertion their profits are being squeezed.

The grocers accidental they are cutting prices wherever they can, arguing falls successful commodity prices instrumentality clip to filter done to the consumer.

Most of the large chains person precocious introduced precocious illustration terms cuts to staples, with Sainsbury's connected Monday the latest to denote it was investing £15m to trim the outgo of basics specified arsenic rice, pasta and chicken.

Tesco, Morrisons, M&S, Aldi and Lidl person each reduced prices connected basal foods specified arsenic bread, beverage and food successful the past fewer months.

However, immoderate items specified arsenic beverage and eggs stay comparatively costly compared to pre-Covid prices.

"These latest terms cuts volition assistance reassure customers that we volition proceed to walk connected savings arsenic soon arsenic we spot the wholesale terms of nutrient fall," said Rhian Bartlett, nutrient commercialized manager astatine Sainsbury's, and 1 of the executives owed to look earlier MPs connected Tuesday.

As good arsenic pointing to caller terms cuts, the executives are apt to archer the committee that not each commodities person been falling successful price, said Ged Futter, a retail expert and erstwhile elder buying manager astatine Asda.

"Yes, prices person travel down for immoderate things, but different things person gone up similar sugar, potatoes [and] chocolate," helium said.

Wheat, which has fallen successful terms connected planetary markets, is mostly supplied from UK growers, and nutrient manufacturers volition inactive beryllium buying past year's harvest astatine past year's prices, Mr Futter said.

"They won't get a caller terms until they get into a caller contract. Just due to the fact that prices person gone down globally that doesn't mean the terms present goes down immediately," helium said.

Similarly, food sold contiguous has been made with beverage bought up to 12 months ago, truthful won't bespeak caller falls successful beverage prices, helium said.

Jamie Keeble, co-founder of sausage and burger shaper Heck which supplies astir of the large supermarkets, told the BBC's Today programme that the terms of pork was expected to stay precocious for the adjacent 18 months.

He said the lone mode supermarkets could little their prices was by asking suppliers to chopped costs, but helium added: "We're surely not successful the presumption to commencement giving outgo decreases connected our products.

"At the extremity of the day, [the supermarkets] are going to person to instrumentality a chopped successful their margins if they truly privation to little the prices connected the shelf, that's the lone mode to bash it."

The British Retail Consortium has antecedently said determination is typically a three- to nine-month lag for terms falls to beryllium reflected successful shops.

Mr Futter thinks supermarket executives volition constituent to different costs affecting nutrient retail, from rising wages to the added charges related to Brexit, specified arsenic veterinary certificates.

A study by academics at the London School of Economics past period recovered astir a 3rd of nutrient terms ostentation since 2019 was owed to Brexit.

How is the terms of nutrient changing your diet? You tin stock your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk.

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