Cheapest grocery items surging in cost, says ONS

The price of budget everyday grocery items have increased 17 per cent in the 12 months to September, more than the average rate of food and drink inflation which currently stands at 14.5 per cent, shows the data released by the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The analysis covered 30 everyday grocery items sold in supermarkets. It found that the cost of vegetable oil had jumped 65 per cent, while pasta and tea were up 60 per cent and 46 per cent respectively. Others products that have seen big rises included chips (+39 per cent), bread (+38 per cent), and biscuits (+34 per cent).

For nine items, the lowest-cost price increased by more than 20 per cent since September 2021, and for three of those nine items the lowest-cost price rose by 40 per cent or more, stated ONS.

Between April 2022 and September 2022, the three largest average price rises in cash terms were vegetable oil (up 80 pence for 1 litre to £2.58), chips (up 27 pence to £1.37 for 1.5kg) and milk (up 25 pence to £1.52 for 4 pints)

Source: Office for National Statistics – Tracking the lowest cost grocery items. However, some items did reduce in price, such as fruit orange juice (nine per cent) and beef mince (seven per cent). Several items had a very stable lowest price throughout the entire period, such as yoghurt and pizza, ONS said.

Speaking to the BBC, Chief Executive of the UK Statistics Authority, Prof Sir Ian Diamond, said: “What we are seeing is that the price of low-cost goods is going up at the same rate as food across the piece with some real highlights… cooking oil and pasta, I would add tea, chips and bread to that – really going up and very, very few things going down at all.

“We are really seeing that the squeeze on people who buy the lowest cost things is pretty hard at the moment.”