Apparently inflation is it 10.5% so please explain to me how food prices are rising so astronomically.

Inflation is based on the cost of everything. Food and energy are going up at a rate higher than inflation, other things are rising more slowly, staying stable or perhaps even dropping in price. The average is higher than those items but unfortunately below everyday goods.

The answer to your question I think is leave it Shinamae. I’ve started not buying the items that I see have risen astronomically in price.
It is very hard with pet food though because it’s better to stick to one type, and it needs to be good quality, so for that I’m shopping around for the special offers. My dog is still eating Forthglade that was on offer in Lidl before Christmas, because I bought it in bulk. It’s gone up from £8 a box to £9.75 in the other supermarkets, so I’m doing the scanner to see which one has it on offer so I can stock up again.

Food inflation is nearly 20% with gas and electricity inflation nearer 30%. Other things, have not gone up so much in price, hence overall inflation is only around 10%.
Inflation is much higher for those on a low income who can't afford holidays, cars and other luxuries which have gone up less.

Sorry, I answered the question in the title and not the actual question in the post.

I make a weekly food plan and only buy what's on my list. To reduce costs, it looks like I should start being more flexible and swapping out one ingredient for another if a cheaper alternative is on offer.

Do you get the leaflets from the supermarkets? When my family visit from the UK they are amazed at the amount of paper that comes into the house every week - a huge wad of supermarket flyers.

Going through that and planning around the special offers would also make a difference.

But I agree, it is the basics that are going up in leaps and bounds. Sometimes as much as €1 at a time (for half a pound of butter)

It connects to the price of certain items in short supply - grain that would have been sourced from Ukraine, for example. Grain is also fed to animals so that impacts on the cost of meat and dairy. Fuel used in production is more costly. Also for tinned goods the cost of the aluminium but I’ve no idea where that comes from. Wage rises, transportation costs - it’s an imperfect storm.

All stages in the food chain have ongoing increases, add in their small % of profit and the end user gets the compounded sum.

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.

Kate1949

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.

Outrageous is the word because own brands have caught onto the fact that a lot of us are switching to them, and consequently sticking their prices up, albeit not as much as their branded products.l use Tesco’s own tomato soup. Can’t tell it from Heinz and also the less (sugar and salt) baked beans would not go back to Heinz now on principle… forgive the punctuation, my iPad over the last few weeks has inserted various things and I can’t be bothered to go back and change it. I expect the pedants would have a field day..😂

Shinamae A friend told me about Lidl and Aldi tomato soup about a year or so ago. It was 35p and delicious. It is now 50p. Yes I think you are right. They realise that people are buying their brands and hiking the prices.

ExperiencedNotOld

It connects to the price of certain items in short supply - grain that would have been sourced from Ukraine, for example. Grain is also fed to animals so that impacts on the cost of meat and dairy. Fuel used in production is more costly. Also for tinned goods the cost of the aluminium but I’ve no idea where that comes from. Wage rises, transportation costs - it’s an imperfect storm.

Some fertiliser is produced in Russia too; lack of supplies from there has pushed up prices.

We need to produce more of our own natural fertiliser.

Jaxjacky’s post explains the increases. And of course at this time of year cucumbers are imported, just as beans are. Do you think it’s outrageous that the various people employed in growing, harvesting, manufacturing, packing, transportation and retail should have pay rises? Do you understand that businesses’ fuel costs have risen just as ours have? How can you expect prices not to increase, or only by a penny or two? It isn’t profiteering, it’s reality.

Well, if farmers go out of business (and some are) because they cannot keep up with the rising costs of production then we will all starve. They are working on tight margins anyway.

If supermarkets are profiteering then it will show in year increased profits but I do know that not all of them give farmers a fair deal.

Also staff costs increased last year when minum wage increased. Staff costs are huge part of costs too.

Shinamae I truly think supermarkets are profiteering, but what can we do about it, take it or leave it?

Indeed, take it or leave it.

Indeed, Callistemon. Supermarkets grind farmers into the ground. Their ‘negotiating tactics’ are disgraceful.

The rate of inflation is based on prices in a number of sectors, not only food, and some where increases have been relatively low.

The simple answer is that the price of anything processed is going to be higher because every part of the process is affected by increased costs of production, especially fuel costs.

Pet food = cost of rearing the animals, cost of getting animals to market, cost of getting them to the slaughterhouse, cost of butchering, cost of factory processing and packaging*, cost of distribution to retail outlets, supermarket running costs.

*The price of steel and aluminium soared in 2020. A pet food tin will will be made from steel. Pouches will be made from a mix of plastic (made from petrol chemicals) and aluminium foil.

The simplest thing would be to buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook them in the cheapest way possible.

Cauliflower £1.25 M&S last week.

That should say, The price of steel and aluminium soared in 2022.

Kate1949

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.

But cucumbers aren't in season at this time of year, so I would expect them to be more expensive.

Nightsky2

Cauliflower £1.25 M&S last week.

Huge cauliflower in M&S just before Christmas - 99p
Small cauliflower in Tesco ditto - 69p
Small cauliflower in Lidl ditto - 99p
I went to Lidl because veg was being offered very cheaply - all except cauliflowers when I got there.

Packet of cauliflower seeds: £1.75

Before we went to New Zealand at the end of December, the cost of Paracetamol Plus was 49 pence in my local Savers. When I came back I found it is now £1. The same product in Superdrug is now £1.99. I understand that everything is going up because of rising on costs, but for a product to rise 100% in two months seems rather excessive to me. Nonetheless it is still cheaper than at Superdrug.

That's faur enough choughdancer but I have been buying cucumbers all my married life and I've never seen such a price hike before. Obviously it's not a necessity but my DH likes it in his gin!

But you’ve never seen such a hike in fuel costs either Kate. And everyone clamouring for wage increases. I buy a cucumber every week so I’m well aware that the price is much higher now.

Yes true GSM.