UK: Staple Supplies Like Butter, Tea and Fish Spike

08 Mar 2017 --- UK food staples like butter, tea and fish all saw prices rise by more than 5% during the last three months, alongside fresh fruit and vegetables which are also costing shoppers in Britain more.

According to the latest figures, inflation has increased to almost the highest in three years with 1.4% in the 12 weeks to February 26, from 0.7% in the 12 weeks to January 29.

The uptick in prices is understood to be an indication of further high costs for food throughout 2017. However, the UK’s “big four” supermarkets - Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Morrisons - still hold more than 70% of the market.

Individually, Morrisons grew ahead of the market with a sales increase of 2.6% signaling its fastest growth in five years. Holding market share steady year on year at 10.6%, the retailer’s positive bricks and mortar performance was buoyed further by the continued rapid expansion of its e-commerce business.

Tesco increased sales for the sixth period in a row – a run it hasn’t experienced since January 2014 – although this wasn’t enough to stop the grocer’s market share slipping by 0.5 percentage points to 27.9%. Asda was the only retailer to see sales fall during the past 12 weeks, but a decline of just 0.8% represents a significant improvement and is the grocer’s best performance since November 2014.