How food items have increased in price over the past year

The vegetable shortages behind the unexpected surge in inflation saw some of the UK’s biggest supermarkets imposing buyer limits on customers as shelves ran bare.

The shortages contributed to an exceptional 18.5% surge in the price of fresh or chilled vegetables other than potatoes, the Office for National Statistics reported.

Shoppers started seeing shortages of tomatoes on around February 20, with retailers saying a combination of bad weather and related transport problems in north Africa and Europe were causing significant supply problems.

(PA Graphics)

However, high energy prices in the UK also contributed to the problem as local growers limited their own production.

The shortages soon spread to other products, leaving shelves bare of fresh produce items including cucumbers, peppers and lettuce.

Tesco, Aldi and Lidl limited purchases of peppers, tomatoes and cucumbers to three items per person, while Morrisons set a limit of two per customer on tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and peppers.

All limits have now been lifted, with retailers reporting that supplies have returned to normal.

Here are some examples of how the cost of food items has increased in the past year.

The figures are based on the CPI (Consumer Prices Index) measure of inflation and have been published by the ONS (Office for National Statistics).

In each case, the figure is the percentage change in the average price over the 12 months to February 2023.

(PA Graphics)

Low-fat milk 42.2%
Olive oil 40.7%
Sugar 38.4%
Cheese & curd 34.9%
Whole milk 34.4%
Eggs 32.5%
Sauces, condiments, salt, spices & culinary herbs 30.9%
Margarine & other vegetable fats 30.4%
Frozen vegetables other than potatoes 29.0%
Butter 27.5%
Pasta products & couscous 25.3%
Pork 22.4%
Ready-made meals 22.2
Edible ices & ice cream 21.0%
Bread 20.8%
Jams, marmalades & honey 20.7%
Yoghurt 19.9%
Potatoes 19.8%
Dried vegetables, other preserved or processed vegetables 18.9%
Fresh or chilled vegetables other than potatoes 18.5%
Poultry 17.9%
Crisps 16.1%
Fish 15.7%
Beef & veal 15.0%
Dried, salted or smoked meat 14.3%
Frozen seafood 12.6%
Pizza & quiche 11.6%
Chocolate 11.6%
Rice 11.2%
Lamb & goat 9.4%
Breakfast cereals & other cereal products 9.0%
Fruit 7.7%
Dried fruit & nuts 6.3%