The huge pressures on Brits’ finances were laid bare today as figures showed food prices still soaring by 14.6 per cent – even though the rate has slowed.

Although food inflation was down last month from the annual 15.4 per cent recorded by the British Retail Consortium in April, the level remains at historic highs.

Fresh food went up by 15.7 per cent, albeit that represented an improvement from the previous level of 17.2 per cent. 

But separate figures suggest that essentials have been seeing even bigger rises, with baked beans surging 22 per cent and eggs 19 per cent. 

The grim picture emerged as supermarket chiefs face a grilling from MPs over whether they are passing on reductions in costs – such as energy – quickly enough. There have warnings that some firms are trying to rebuild profit margins in the wake of Covid chaos and the Ukraine war.

The ONS has found that Brits are now spending a fifth more with food and drink retailers than before the pandemic – but getting 3 per cent less goods.

To add to the misery, the Bank of England has responded to the spiralling inflation by hiking interest rates, sending mortgage payments soaring.   

A study today found that one in four people say the struggle of being able to afford to put food on the table is causing real stress and has worsened their mental health. 

Food costs are also causing a negative impact on sleep, diet and overall physical health, according to research by Which?

Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown told MailOnline: ‘The soaring cost of food hurts all of us, but it hits people on lower incomes harder, because not only do they spend a larger proportion of their income on the essentials, but they also spend far less on them – so there’s very little room for shopping around and trading down before they’re forced to make really horrible decisions about what they can afford to eat.

‘It feels frustrating that food prices are still so high, but every item on the supermarket shelf has its own unique journey to get there, which will dictate how long it will take inflation to shift.

‘Some are energy-intensive, while others are labour-intensive, and the cost of both energy and wages have soared. Others have long and complex supply chains and take time to reach the shelves, so any fall in wholesale prices won’t be reflected in a price change for much longer. You can see this very simply from the fact that price inflation for milk is falling so much faster than the price inflation of cheese.

‘There have also been a series of poor harvests, which are feeding into specific items, most notably things like olive oil and sugar, which the ONS shows are both up almost 50 per cent from this time last year. For items with a high sugar content, including baked beans, this will keep the price high.

‘Plus there are some industries where the pressure has pushed more farmers out of business. Take eggs, for example, the rising cost of feed in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine pushed up the price of production, but they couldn’t get more for their eggs at the supermarkets. Then avian flu hit hard, and a combination of the two meant farmers quit. In the first three months of 2022 there were 229million dozen eggs produced in the UK. In 2022 that fell 12 per cent to 202million dozen. The shortage is what’s keeping inflation so stubbornly high.

‘We can see some hope in the figures though, because where lower commodity prices have passed through quickly into some fresh food, we have seen inflation ease. 

‘Looking at the ONS statistics, the price inflation of low fat milk has fallen from 46 per cent to the end of December to 28.5 per cent in the most recent set of figures. It’s still an eye-watering rise, but it’s moving in the right direction.’

The chief Executive of the BRC, Helen Dickinson, said: ‘Households up and down the country will welcome the easing of shop price inflation in June.

‘Food inflation slowed for the second consecutive month, particularly for fresh products, as retailers cut the price of many staples including milk, cheese and eggs. 

‘Clothing and electrical goods also saw falling prices, helping customers to pick up a bargain ahead of the summer holidays.

‘If the current situation continues, food inflation should drop to single digits later this year.’

However, she called on the Government to drop a series of industry reforms, including a new packaging levy to combat plastic waste and a deposit and return scheme to boost bottle recycling.

Ms Dickinson said: ‘It is imperative that Government does not hamper this progress by introducing costly new policies.

‘Reforms to the packaging Levy (Extended Producer Responsibility) and a new deposit return scheme, could create an additional £4billion burden on retailers and their customers.

‘Along with a rise in business rates, and the introduction of border controls in October, these policies could hinder the Government’s efforts to combat inflation.’

Mike Watkins, head of retailer and business insight for NielsenIQ, said: ‘Whilst prices are still higher than a year ago, the slowdown in food inflation is welcome news for shoppers, helped by supermarkets lowering prices of some staple goods.

‘And if global supply chain costs continue to fall, we may now be past the peak of price increases.

‘However, with most households needing to save money, purchasing behaviour for the rest of this year is still likely to shift towards essential needs with discretionary consumption being deprioritised or delayed.’

Sue Davies, the Which? head of food policy, said: ‘It’s good to see inflation slowing down slightly, but our latest food and drink tracker shows prices are still rising incredibly quickly.

‘Millions are struggling to put food on the table – with some parents telling us they are skipping meals just to make sure their children have something to eat.

‘Now is the time to act. The Government must work to get urgent commitments from supermarkets on stocking essential budget ranges in all their stores, particularly in areas where people are most in need, as well as make pricing much clearer so shoppers can compare prices and find the best value products.’

According to Which? research, women are particularly suffering from the financial squeeze with almost three in ten (30 per cent) saying their mental health had worsened because of the increase in food prices.

Meanwhile, a third of people aged 35 to 54 – those most likely to be parents of young families – said food costs had had a negative impact on their mental health.

Survey participants said they are living day to day, while one described the issue of food costs as ‘a black cloud that never goes away’.

More than one in five (22 per cent) had lost sleep over food costs and another one in five said their physical health had also deteriorated.

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk