UK Supermarket Inflation Reaches 9% as Coffee, Chocolate Prices Soar

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) and NielsenIQ reported that the rate of inflation at UK supermarkets reached 9% in the year to May due to price increases in coffee, chocolate, and non-food goods.

The overall rate of inflation for food items slowed down from 15.7% in the previous month to 15.4%.

However, the figure is still the second highest on record.

Non-food goods also showed a slight increase in price growth, rising from 5.5% to 5.8%.

Fresh produce prices slowed down, while the cost of ambient foods continued to rise, reaching the highest increase on record at 13.1%.

Helen Dickinson, CEO of the BRC, attributed the price increases to high global costs for commodities and adverse weather conditions in Europe and Africa.

The government is discussing the possibility of asking supermarkets to cap prices on basic food items to help with the cost of living, but the BRC has dismissed this idea, stating that the government should focus on reducing red tape to help keep prices low.