Food inflation reaches highest annual rate sign March last year, statistics show

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Food inflation has reached its highest rate in a year, including a significant jump from the end of 2024. The Office of National Statistics (ONS) reported that overall food and non-alcoholic drinks inflation rose to 3.3 per cent in January.This is up from two per cent in December 2024 and the highest annual rate of food inflation recorded since March 2024.According to statistics gathered by ONS, prices seemed to fall the fastest in pastas and couscous (5.9%) and jams and marmalades (3.2%).

On the other side of the scale, edible offal recorded the highest rise in inflation with 20.2 per cent. This was closely followed by butter (18.3%) and olive oil (16.6%).Treats such as confectionery saw a 5.7 per cent rise, while fresh or chilled vegetables followed closely behind with a 3.6 per cent rise.

Sugar was seen to fall by 2.1 per cent and frozen seafood had a 2.6 per cent decrease.On top of inflation impacting everyday life, the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has reported that agricultural commodities (crops and livestock) are also putting an upward pressure on prices.

On average the prices of these commodities have risen between March and November last year, but this has varied across categories.In terms of cereals and sugar, they were 13 per cent cheaper in 2024 than they were in 2023.