UK grocery inflation edges lower to 17.2% in May -Kantar

People shop at a grocery market, in London May 6, 2023. REUTERS/Emilie Madi/File photo

LONDON  – British grocery inflation eased slightly for the second month in a row in May but remained close to record highs, industry data showed on Tuesday, providing little comfort for consumers grappling with a cost-of-living crisis.

Market researcher Kantar said annual grocery inflation was 17.2 percent in the four weeks to May 14, and while that was down from 17.3 percent in its April data set, it was the third fastest rate it has recorded since 2008.

It said UK households now face an additional 833 pounds ($1,051) on their annual shopping bills if they do not change their behavior to cut costs.

It said prices are rising fastest in products such as eggs and ambient cooking sauces.

The Kantar data for May provides the most up to date snapshot of UK grocery inflation.

Official UK data published last month showed overall consumer price inflation fell to 10.1 percent in March. However, prices of food and non-alcoholic drinks were 19.1 percent higher in March than a year earlier, the biggest such rise since August 1977. Official data for April will be published on Wednesday.

The Bank of England said earlier this month it expected overall inflation to fall more slowly than it had hoped, mostly due to unexpectedly big and persistent rises in food prices.

Food retailers have said they expect prices to rise in 2023 overall but with the rate of inflation declining through the year.

Prices for some products that had seen the sharpest rises, such as milk, butter, bread, pasta, vegetable and sunflower oil, have started to fall.

Kantar said the average cost of four pints of milk has come down by 8 pence since last month, but noted prices are still 30 pence higher than this time last year.

It again highlighted that consumers are skirting higher prices by choosing more own-label goods, sales of which grew by 15.2 percent over the month, almost double that of branded products which rose by 8.3 percent.

Kantar said overall grocery sales rose 10.8 percent over the four weeks year-on-year, with sales up 16 percent during the week of King Charles’ coronation, with an extra 218 million pounds spent.

German owned discounters Aldi and Lidl were again the fastest growing grocers, with sales growth of 24 percent and 23.2 percent respectively.