The book I read recently 'Across a Waking Land; A 1,000 Mile Walk Through a British Spring' (it's been very useful for blog posts!) begins
just as Russia invades Ukraine and the author says he thinks this will have a really serious affect on food supplies and prices. It certainly has, coupled with the long term effects of Covid (higher costs after the slowdown of manufacturing etc ) and Brexit (difficulty in getting foreign workers for harvesting and packing).
Luckily I could check out how much prices had changed because last year in March I was doing the 'Eating Basics Challenge' and had photos of shopping with prices. This is just one week - an average sort-of shop.
What I wrote a year ago and the prices then. New prices at the end of March 2024 in RED .
Milk down 10p, chicken thighs the same. Everything else is up in price, fruit and vegetables by more.
AL Bread 39p (20 slices and 2 crusts) I divided these into 5 x 4 slices and the two crusts and popped all but one in the freezer. Now 45p
AL British Chicken Thighs 1kg = 7 = £2.85 Wrapped individually and frozen .SAME
AL Pears 97p (They were on offer at 30% off) NOW £1.69
AS Back Bacon 300g =£1.40 ( I wanted to buy their cheaper 'Cooking Bacon Pieces' at 90p but not in stock) NO ESSENTIALS RANGE ANYMORE so 300g now £2.25
AS Pineapple pieces 49p NOW 71p
AL 2 Pints milk £1.30 (Makes up to 4 pints when mixed half and half with water) £1.20
AS Grated Cheese 500g = £2.60 I have NEVER EVER bought grated cheese before - lazy - except the crazy thing is that this is cheaper than a block of cheese at the moment so for this experiment it works. NOW £2.99
AS Head of Broccoli 34p NOW 79p
AL 1kg Carrots 50p NOW 65p
AL 500g Parsnips 50p NOW 65p
AL 6 Mini Apples 59p NOW 99p
A year ago the total was £11.93 - NOW £15.22
We certainly are paying the price for all the things that have happened in the last 7 years.
I wish I knew for sure that farmers are benefitting from the price increases - but I doubt they are .
Back Tomorrow
Sue
Wow, that is a large increase in just those essential items. Not sure prices will ever drop and with all the rain and soggy ground, think veg will be even more expensive this year. Our allotment has a base of clay soil so is just too muddy to even start planting anything.
ReplyDeleteMy greenhouse plants are doing well thankfully no sign of cold nights in the forecast and less rain this week too
DeleteIt's amazing how a few pence on every item adds up to a few pounds!! I doubt we'll ever go back to the prices we had although I'd be happy if it was the farmers who benefitted and not the big supermarkets!
ReplyDeleteSeeing the figures written down- it's no surprise we are feeling that the money isn't going as far as it did
DeleteAnd that was Aldi. Just imagine what that would have cost in Waitrose. I just looked on line carrots are 70p and chicken thighs £3.25 as a comparison. I don’t understand why people shop in Waitrose.
ReplyDeleteAldi and Asda. Lots of people seem to love Waitrose - paying more for a name has never appealed to me
DeleteI buy meat in Waitrose as I know the standards of husbandry they set their farmers. My cousin grew beef for Waitrose and their standards are exceptionally high - much higher than Asda, Tesco, Morrisons and the German contingent. You might like to buy cheap meat but at what cost to the animals? I'd rather buy less meat than go for cheap meat where the standards of rearing the animals are questionable.
Deletethanks for that really interesting I just feel that prices are going up but your list shows how much
ReplyDeleteYes - there in black and white - or black and Red! Pennies soon turn into pounds
DeletePrices rarely fall. I agree with Heather that vegetables will be more expensive this year. I feel sorry for the small farmers trying to make a living.
ReplyDeleteWe need some weeks of dry weather for farmers to get out onto their fields
Delete'They' keep saying inflation is slowing down.....it might be, but prices are still rising! And no, I very much doubt farmers are benefiting from increased prices in the shops.
ReplyDeleteI don't see how rising more slowly is any better than rising quickly!
DeleteLidl and Aldi are still very inexpensive especially for vegetables. There's always something on offer for 49 Cents.
ReplyDeleteAldi veg are usually good though I sometimes have had things that seem a bit old
DeleteI doubt very much that any farmer is seeing the benefit for the higher prices, sadly. I guess if I keep taking notice of what I'm blogging about this year I will be able to look back on the prices in years to come.
ReplyDeleteI wonder what the food I have in my cupboards, bought last year, would cost me to buy now, looking at the prices you've highlighted here a LOT more I should expect.
I have noticed though that Aldi are putting some prices down week by week, and rather weirdly not making a song and a dance about it ... or perhaps I've just not seen the adverts. Take the 'Ancient Grains' loaf for example, it started out at 79p, then crept up in 10p or 20p increments until it peaked at £1.39 last year. Then it started on the way down and is currently priced at just 99p.
In theory the companies that are "matching Aldi prices" ought to be on the way down too. Hope it continues
DeleteHow informative - I was surprised at the sharp rise in the canned fruit.... I used to buy quite a lot of canned fruit because it felt cheaper.......not looking like it now.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
Asda had an Essentials range canned grapefruit but that went several months ago . It is good to see it written down to know exactly whats happening
DeleteIt’s greed- flation as manufacturers and corporations report record profits….
ReplyDeleteShareholders are probably doing well!
DeleteI'm wondering if the money you have coming in has increased to cover these increases in purchases. I know my investments have started going up a bit and my Social Security monthly amount was increased a little. I don't know how finances work where you live but I hope you have some increases in income to help cover the increases in purchases.
ReplyDeleteState pensions have gone up from this month , but it won't make much difference with everything else going up too
DeleteMy "Economist" magazine states US food prices are up by 40% and we should not expect any decreases. The US is reporting bird flu again and chicken flocks are being eliminated. I bought a dozen eggs yesterday and paid $6.89. A trip to the grocery store is expensive at $100 plus.
ReplyDeleteThings rarely go down in price. I think I heard that Bird Flu has decreased rapidly here in the last weeks
Delete27.5% Much more than the official inflation figure. It really depends on what you buy, and what proportion of your spending it come to.
ReplyDeleteI could compare one of the other weeks from last March to now but can't be bothered!
DeleteUnfortunately there is nomAldi or ASda within reasonable driving distance so I flit between Tesco and Coop who do good reductions and Morrison’s and Lidl for basics. It’s the price of Toilet rolls and cleaning materials that flummox me,why does something so basic cost so much. Rural communities are def. at a disadvantage, no Olio or TGTG, not worth the fuel to pick them up. Sarah Browne.
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree with Sarah, rural communities are at a disadvantage. And people who depend on unreliable public transport often end up having to buy essentials in the village shop which costs more. The negative effects of Brexit will be with us for years to come, I am afraid, in terms of food production and food costs.
ReplyDeleteI doubt they are too. It's all a right mess nowadays. xx
ReplyDeleteThe prices of many ASda items has more than doubled in the past couple of years
ReplyDeleteWe in New Zealand have had huge increases in food prices, as the supermarkets make record profits. I’m comfortably off, so I. Can choose to only buy Free range eggs at $1 (your 50p) each, and chicken at $15 (£7.50). Likewise non crated - outdoor raised - NZ pork is much more expensive, but worth it in my opinion. The conditions some of the imported meat is raised in is simply disgusting. We also have Farmers markets here, and if you’ve a family you can subscribe to “ Wonky Box” vegetables which get delivered to the door. Which, I hasten to add, is all very well if you can afford it, but for those struggling on the benefit there is little choice if you’re to feed the family.
ReplyDeleteNot Anonymous …. Virginia.
My husband and his brother raise organic grain and beef, and they haven't seen any uptick in what they are paid for their products, though the price of production has gone up considerably. Farmers always decry that state of affairs; it probably hasn't changed in decades, if ever.
ReplyDeleteI think you're right - it's not the farmers who see anything extra. Sad to say.
ReplyDelete