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WHILE Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures claimed yesterday that ‘real pay’ has fallen by just 2.3% in the last three months, a Which? report came closer to the truth by revealing that food prices have nearly doubled in a year.
The cost of food staples such as cheddar cheese, white bread and porridge oats are up to 80% more expensive than a year ago, says the consumer body.
Food prices at UK supermarkets have soared in recent months, with Which? showing the products which have seen the biggest price rises.
They analysed inflation on more than 26,000 food and drink products at eight major supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Morrisons, Ocado, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – in March to see how everyday product prices are being affected.
Which? put together a basket of staple foods including cheddar cheese, sliced white bread, pork sausages, white potatoes and porridge oats to find which of these everyday products have seen the biggest percentage price hikes, and work out average prices across the eight supermarkets.
Their research showed cheddar cheese prices increased by an average 28.3% across all the supermarkets compared to the three months to March 2022.
The biggest increase Which? saw was Dragon Welsh Mature Cheddar 180g at Asda, which went from £1 to £1.80, a rise of 80% year on year.
The cost of porridge oats also increased by an average of 35.5% across the eight biggest UK supermarkets compared to the same time last year. At Ocado, Quaker Oat So Simple Protein Porridge Pot Original 49g went from 94p to £1.56 – an increase of 65.5%.
The price of a large loaf of sliced white bread increased by 22.8% on average. The Bakery at Asda Soft White Medium Sliced Bread 800g, went from 56p to 94p – an increase of 67%, according to Which?’s research.
Average inflation of white potatoes was around 14% across the supermarkets. At Morrisons a four pack of baking potatoes went from 40p to 66p — a 63.5% rise.
The Unite union general secretary Sharon Graham said in response to the ONS figures: ‘The drop in the value of wages, which are once again well behind inflation, shows just how important it is for unions like Unite to defend workers’ pay.
‘Despite what the Chancellor and others in government say, it is abundantly clear that wages are not driving inflation.
‘At the same time as real-terms pay for working people has plummeted, corporate profits have soared to astonishing new heights.
‘Endemic profiteering is driving the cost-of-living crisis. Politicians are allowing it to happen and expect workers to foot the bill.
‘Unite will not let them get away with it: We will continue to do whatever it takes to defend our members’ jobs, pay and conditions.’
New Unite research, analysing the FTSE 350, shows how profit margins for the first half of 2022 were 89 per cent higher compared to the same period in 2019.
FTSE 350 profits have spiked even higher than in 2021 when profits jumped 73 per cent, according to Unite’s first profiteering report, published in July 2022.
Unite’s latest report on profiteering across the economy is the first to show how runaway profiteering has driven up the price of everyday household goods.
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