Supermarkets are not the cause of food price inflation in the UK with profits down by more than 40%, a new Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) report has said.
Horsemeat, the waning power of retail giant Tesco and 2 Sisters Food Group’s acquisitions featured in the review of 2013, at Food Manufacture’s Business Leaders’ Forum from its chair Paul Wilkinson.
Food price inflation is expected to stabilise over the next few months – despite recent reports of big food price increases from Waitrose – according to market research organisation BRC-Nielsen.
Downward pressure on the economy is likely to keep a lid on UK retail food price inflation, which will peak in the first few months of this year at around 6-7%, and then decline slowly, according to European Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP).
Food price inflation fell to 4% in November from 4.4% in October, according to the latest shop price index compiled by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and Nielsen.
Food manufacturers will be under pressure to absorb higher raw material and energy costs this year to ensure their products remain affordable as household budgets are squeezed, English Food and Farming Partnerships (EFFP) has warned.
VAT on processed food is likely to be raised to 20%, whichever party wins the general election, while sterling will "remain weak", a leading economist has predicted.
