Monday 16 May 2022

Rising Food Prices

First of all must say Hello and Welcome to some people who have pressed the follower button and also apologies as I found some comments from several days ago that had gone into spam and I hadn't realised.  And also thank you for comments on Saturday which I eventually got round to replying to yesterday evening because I got myself stuck into the Jacqueline Winspear library book and forgot to look again at the post.

Now food prices..........................

 Every day on TV or Radio someone says food prices are going up, not as much as fuel prices but I wondered exactly  how much? In February or March when I did the comparisons between Aldi and Morrisons and Aldi and Asda I had the prices on the blog and  when I went to Aldi last week bought  things I had also purchased in February or March so looked back at the blog posts to see what I paid then.

(For US readers £1 UK = 1.23$US when I wrote this)

From February Comparison shop

                                    Aldi price  February and May                                        
                                                                                                  
Punnet of Red Grapes       £1.49.................Same                                                  
Broccoli                               47p.....................Up 3p  to 50p                                                 
Baby Plum Toms                 59p .................Up 36p  to 95p (possible a bigger punnet)
Unsalted butter 250g        £1.48...................Up 27p to £1.75p
Tin Plum Tomatoes               28p............Same                                                  
Jar Pitted Olives                    49p............Same
6 Cheese/onion in pastry rolls   £1.19..........Up 20p to £1.39                                     
                                                  

From my March Comparison 

Aldi   price            March                                   and May                                                                 

Frothy Coffee Sachets  £0.79................................. Up 6p to 85p
Pasta Penne 500g         £0.29...................................Same                                    
Pringles                      £1.65......................................Same                                                        
Ex-Mature cheese 400g  £1.79.....................................Up 10p to £1.89                                                     Milk  2pt                       £0.95...............................Same                                                              
Sm.Potatoes500g        £0.62.............................. down 2p to 60p
Cucumber                     £0.43 ..........................Up 2p to 45p                                                          
6 Braeburn Apples      £1.19...........................Up 20p to £1.39                                                         
Iceberg Lettuce           £0.43 ..........................Up 3p to 46p
 
Yes, that's proved food prices are going up..... and even my once-a-month pensioners Fish and Chips from up the road has gone from £3.50 to £4 ( but still a bargain as the fish alone is usually £5.25)

I did my main food shop for the month on the 6th and spent just over £50 between Aldi and Asda and eggs from a farm gate stall. I then bought flour and rape seed oil and a  couple of freezer things from Morrisons and will only need  fresh stuff during the rest of the month.(Flour and cooking oil are the things that we are likely to have a shortage of so I'm getting prepared just in case - either for me or the children)
 I bought no meat at all this month as I still have some chicken breasts, one thigh joint and some bacon and sausages in the freezer. Bought lots of cheese and unsalted butter (had to bake for WI on Monday), one pack of vegetarian "bakes" that I've not tried before - taste test coming up.

The picture isn't the whole shop- some went straight into fridge and freezer before I thought about a photo.

The UK have long had some of the cheapest food prices in Europe but now due to Brexit, the war in Ukraine and the effects of the pandemic it seems we will have to pay a much higher price and then  I heard India have stopped all exports of flour due to a failed harvest........... It's going to be hard for a lot of people.

It will be interesting to look back at this in the Autumn and see how prices have changed. . Who knows what things will be like by then - recession? war? trade war due to Irish situation, world wide oil shortages?

It's become even more important to carry on growing whatever I can, shop wisely and waste nothing.

Back Tomorrow
Sue



47 comments:

  1. Good morning Sue. Have you ever thought to buy your milk in 4 pint bottles as it freezes well and only costs a few coppers more for twice as much?

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    1. I hardly use any milk so a 4 pint bottle would go off before I finished it

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    2. I meant pour it into smaller bottles and freeze it. It thaws out and is exactly as it was.

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  2. Allowing for seasonal fluctuations things are definitely rising. If it gets worse, we could see a return to lack of flour (and flour based products), as in Covid times.

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    1. I thought it interesting to see the list and note exactly how much they are going up by.
      So many countries will be sourcing flour from fewer countries selling so there's bound to be shortages

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  3. I'm so grateful that my retirement hobby is growing vegetables. I think our Food banks are going to need a lot of support. Many families are struggling

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    1. I'm looking forward to my harvest this year, just planted out the French climbing beans and sweetcorn

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  4. Angela mentioned Food Banks……something that’s happening more and more down here……is families topping up their usual grocery shop by dropping into the FB to pick up extra bits and pieces

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    1. I haven't heard about how busy food banks are here, we don't have anything in the country villages - only in towns

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  5. My local Aldi is limiting their sale of bottles of oil, boxes of pasta, and bags of flour to 3 per customer. I buy 3 boxes of pasta every time I go in; it'll keep.

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    1. Everything was still OK on the 6th but may have changed since

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  6. Brexit can be blamed for a lot of the high prices along with covid lay offs and the war in the Ukraine.

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    1. It's world wide problems - people will be struggling everywhere

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  7. An interesting post Sue with, shock horror, some actual facts . To quote from another blog I don’t think one could feed a family of five healthily on £1.43. As to “we had it hard in the 1980s” and didn’t complain - compare the average house price/average wage ration in 1980 and 2022 and you get a different view on things.

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    1. I thought it would be interesting to see it written down to look back on

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  8. Sadly, the whole bread basket in the US is in a historic draught, and the harvest isn't expected to be good. I am retired and worry about shortages and prices. Most people here blame them on one political party or another. Short-sighted as they do not see we aren't alone. I hope the best for you.

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    1. Drought is yet another reason for shortages

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  9. Our prices here are even higher compared to yours - no Aldi or Morrisons here. For example, 1 litre of Manx milk is £1.25, a punnet of grapes £2.00 and so on.

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  10. Yes, prices are still creeping up each week, aren't they. I paid £1.05 for 2 pints of skimmed milk and £1.90 for a pack of British butter in the last food shop. I don't use a lot of pasta or flour but will try to keep a bit in stock even if it's to help the family out. I've also heard that some drugs are in short supply; painkillers, blood pressure medication and HRT (not that I use that) but it's very worrying. There are so many struggling families. Where will it all end?

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    1. There are big problems with medication shortages - I don't know what's causing them

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  11. ( Anne Brew ). Like JayCee, here in Sheffield our equivalent size milk in Sainsbury's has climbed to £1.25 and appears to be stuck there - up from 85p this time last year.
    Very interesting post Sue.

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  12. such wise words. Our oil and gas prices are crazy. I worry about heating our homes this winter not many people can afford the crazy price it is now. We are lucky to have a wood stove and wood that was cut from our property a few years ago. The food prices each time I go they have gone up it is hard to keep up with it.
    cathy

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    1. I miss my wood-burner stove but can't decide if there is room here

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  13. I am an American Reader and have visited your beautiful country. When visiting, I noticed then that food prices were significantly lower on your side of the pond, and they have remained so. For example, a pound of butter (4 sticks or 454 grams) in the US averages $5 or £3.96. A head of broccoli costs around $3 or £2.30. My husband and I spend the equivalent of £100 - £110 a week on groceries for 2 people who eat all meals at home. This is an increase of approximately 35% over the last 2 years. Many of us are getting quite concerned.

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    1. It's so interesting to here about worldwide prices - thanks to blogging

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  14. Individually, the price increase seems fairly innocuous, then by the time you have filled the trolley - all those .. penny here and a penny there - add up and it becomes suddenly concerning.
    We had the family over for the weekend (boys and their girls, and my folks) and we had to just grin and bare it as we watched the smart meter doing victory laps every time some one had a shower or I baked a cake, it was absolutely wonderful and precious we were all together but it was definitely more expensive that the last time!

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    1. I'm going to watch and see each month how things change and try and cut down elsewhere

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  15. Yes prices are climbing up steadily and I usually notice something has increased every time I shop now. Something I am noticing is that our Aldi very rarely has any vegetable oil in stock now, although olive oil which is dearer is still there. The pasta is a bit hit and miss too, either they have lots or none at all. The cheapest flour went up by 10p a bag last week, so that is the start of of flour wars once again I guess.

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    1. Everything was OK a week ago but I'm not sure how it will be this week!

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  16. I shop online due to mobility problems and, doing my last order, I was surprised how much prices had risen from one week to the next. It can only get worse but, as you say, we've had cheap food for a long time, with people spending a far smaller percentage of their income on food than they did in the fifties, for example.

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    1. It will be a shock for people who regularly buy too much, they might have to cut back to manage

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  17. Yes, prices climbing every week, which ever shop you use. Like you, I need my car to get to any food shop, no public transport and being diabetic canno t eat any carbs, so no cheap pasta or any bread or potatoes. It has to be dark fish, Mediterranean veg, apples, pears or berries, nuts and seeds, all expensive food but better than going blind or having a foot chopped off! There must be loads of people on special diets with other medical conditions, all right banging on about healthy eating but it’s bloomin’ expensive. Sarah Browne.

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    1. I can't eat pulses which is another cheap filler food. Love fresh fruit and that's the most difficult to grow

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  18. Prices continue to rise and your comparison shows it well. Baby formula is currently a huge problem in the US. One factory was shut down and remains closed. Nobody seems to respond to the question, "Why?" Fuel is moving toward $6 a gallon.

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    1. That must be really worrying - can't be substituted by anything.

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  19. Someone I know on Facebook who lives in America regularly talks about the cost of petrol. I didn't take a lot of notice until one day it dawned on me that her fuel was now actually more than ours. I was stunned to be honest because when we visited the USA it was the cheapness of their fuel that really shocked us and how much more we used to pay for it in the UK.

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  20. Prices in the US are terrible. A pound of butter at Aldi's was $1.99 and is now $3.99, At Kroger butter is 6.99 per pound. When I was in England almost four years ago, I found food prices were so reasonable compared to the US. There are shortages one week on something and the next week something else. If there is something, you like to use and you find it then you better stock up. It's a very sad time around the world and then the Ukraine people suffering because of a crazy man. Those of us that are older won't be around, but our children and grandchildren will face some terrible things in the future. Very sad times but we have to keep our chin up and do what needs to be done.

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  21. Shopping is getting harder and you have to be so careful now. Thank you for sharing this.

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  22. We will continue to waste as little as possible. As every year goes past I have managed to lower the amount of meat we eat [my two chaps won't become veggie] and all meat I buy now is anything of a good quality that is yellow stickered in the Co-op if I'm passing by. Arilx

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  23. Many comments flying around here about the increasing cost of living but sometimes it feels like the prices are just increasing like they normally do. I'm now feeling inspired to go and record some of our grocery prices and see what happens with them :)

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  24. Food and fuel keep going up and up.

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  25. Food prices are crazy. It seems like they go up every time I go shopping. The same with our fuel prices. I sure hope things settle down soon.

    God bless.

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  26. Prices for food are up in USA as well. Some people who come into Panera are a bit disappointed at the prices. Next month it is to go up a bit but not too much, hopefully. We never know what will happen next in our life. Seems life has changed in these past two years. Pandemic then gas prices and shortage of items and workers at many places. God is always with us and I know we will make it through the rough time in life. He never leaves us nor forsakes us! Hugs and prayers!
    Becky
    grandmabeckyl.blogspot.com

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  27. In our nearest supermarket, the only one I can get to without a car, there is absolute no flour excapt whole-grain spelt and no vegetable or sunflower oil. This has gone on for more than two months now. I do a big shopping once a month by car, but to get flour and oil is really difficult. Sometimes the only thing on the shelf are the signs "Only one packet or bottle per customer, please!"
    Hilde in Germany

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  28. I'm afraid it will be a case of getting what you can, rather than what you would like. x

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