A quarter of Britons are facing problems due to rising food prices. How do they cope

March 01, 2023, 18:02

Research firm Kantar: 25% of Brits are in trouble over food prices

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research firm Kantar calculated that a quarter of Britons faced financial difficulties in 2022 – an increase of 5% compared to 2021. For the same set of products, families began to spend 811 pounds more per year (almost 73.5 thousand rubles at the current exchange rate).

“Our latest study shows that rising food prices are the second most important financial problem for the population after energy costs. And two-thirds of people are concerned about food and drink prices, not public sector strikes and climate change,” the authors of the study noted.

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Products continue to rise in price

The British Retail Consortium said inflation rose 0.4% in February to 8.4%. This happened against the backdrop of a rise in food prices up to 16.3%.

The food prices had to be raised due to several factors. For example, prices for tomatoes and broccoli have risen because bad weather has affected crops in southern Spain and North Africa, and greenhouse growers in the UK and the Netherlands are charging more for their services.

According to Helen Dickinson, executive director of the British Retail Consortium, prices should not be expected to drop in the near future. They increased, including against the backdrop of the conflict in Ukraine, she told The Guardian.

This was in response to rising electricity costs and tightening trading conditions. Fresh food is getting more expensive due to the weakening of the pound sterling – the national currency. Vegetables have been the hardest hit, as their imports from Europe have become more expensive.

What helps the people of Britain

Moreover, in recent years, buyers are increasingly faced with a shortage of fruits and vegetables on the shelves, Kantar added. Supermarkets have already begun to limit the amount of goods in one hand in order to somehow solve the problem.

The British themselves are also trying to adapt to the new situation: for example, they buy goods from local manufacturers. In February, the demand for such brands increased by 13.2%. According to Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer research at Kantar analytics firm, it’s “a trend that won’t stop.”

Also, residents of the United Kingdom are saved with the help of discounters, where you can buy in small bulk. In one of the two most popular network discounters, people began to come more often by almost 27%, in the other – by more than 25%.