THE prices of staple foods in UK supermarkets have gone up by as much as 65 per cent in the past year, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS figures – collated from millions of prices across supermarket websites every month – suggest that the price of pasta has gone up by 60% in the past 12 months.
The price of tea has risen by 46%, bread by 38%, and biscuits by 34%.
Vegetable oil prices have risen by a massive 65% over the past year, with a spike of 46% over just the past five months.
The ONS further said that just four grocery items had seen their prices fall over the past year: Orange juice by 9%; minced beef by 7%; sugar by 0.3%; and rice by 0.2%.
The “highly experimental” data looks at any changes in cost of 30 different food staples from September 2021 to September 2022, “scraping” around 1.5 million prices from supermarket websites every month.
The ONS said that “while there is a lot of variation at the individual item level, overall the lowest prices of the 30 everyday items, weighted by retailer and item, rose by 17% in the year to September 2022”.
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This, it noted, was “broadly similar” to the trend in the equivalent official measure of inflation for food and drink, which showed a 15% rise in prices over the past year.
The ONS also revealed data which found that more than seven in 10 people using pre-payment meters had been finding it hard to afford their energy bills at the start of October.
The figures show over half (55%) of disabled adults reported finding it difficult to afford their energy bills and around a third (36%) found it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments compared with 40% and 27% of non-disabled people respectively.
The data body said that the figures “use new data sources and near real-time surveys to give fresh insights into exactly how prices are changing at a detailed level and which groups of people are most being affected by recent changes in the cost of living”.
Alison Thewliss (above), the SNP's shadow chancellor, said that people "cannot go on like this".
The Glasgow Central MP said: "The Tories have been a disaster for the economy. With every day, more damage unfolds – showing Scotland needs independence to escape the constant crisis of Westminster control.
"Under the Tories inflation has run out of control, mortgage rates are at their highest since the financial crash, and energy bills have more than doubled. We cannot go on like this. There must be a General Election so voters can have their say on the way forward.
"After a decade of Tory cuts and Brexit damage, the UK already had the worst levels of poverty in north west Europe and many families were struggling to get by on stagnant incomes. Now this Tory economic crisis has become a full on emergency."
National statistician Ian Diamond said: “While the recent spike in inflation began with energy prices, today’s fresh insights using a new innovative data source show they are now filtering through to other important items, with the cheapest price of some staple food items rising by around two-thirds in the last year.
“Figures from our near real-time survey of people show that while rises in food and energy costs are affecting many people across the country, those who are disabled, from certain ethnic minority backgrounds and renters are among those struggling the most.
“With rises in the cost of living at the forefront of many people’s minds, our new, almost real time, data showing just how prices are changing and shining a light on how different groups are affected have never been more important.”
The news comes just one week after the ONS said that the rate of Consumer Price Index inflation rose to 10.1% in September.
How is the cost of living crisis affecting you?
From soaring energy bills to rising food prices and stagnating wages, it's getting harder and harder for many Scots to make ends meet. We want to tell the stories of how the cost of living crisis is impacting people in Scotland. Are you struggling to choose between heating and eating? Are you finding it increasingly difficult to afford your weekly shop? If so, we want to go beyond the statistics and tell your story.
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