Food price inflation falls for fifth month in a row

Food inflation has declined for the fifth month in a row, as the cost of some staples, such as milk and sunflower oil, continue to come down.

Data from Kantar found that while the cost of a shop is still more than last year, the pace of price increases has been slowing down.

Grocery price inflation fell by 2.2 percentage points to 12.7% in the four weeks to 6 August 2023, according to the latest data.

Shoppers paid £1.50 for four pints of milk last month, down from £1.69 in March, while the average cost of a litre of sunflower oil is now £2.19, 22 pence less than in the spring.

However, Russia's recent withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative and targeting of grain facilities could have an impact on inflation going forward.

Fraser McKevitt, Kantar's head of retail said: “The latest slowdown in price rises is the second sharpest monthly fall since we started monitoring grocery inflation in this way back in 2008.

"Prices are still up year-on-year across every supermarket shelf, but consumers will have been relieved to see the cost of some staple goods starting to edge down compared with earlier in 2023."

In March, the price of staples such as milk, meat, eggs and cheese surged at the fastest rate in more than 45 years.

There were shortages of salad produce and other vegetables due to the bad weather in southern Europe and Africa, which had weighed on inflation.

The impact of higher electricity prices on produce grown out of season in greenhouses in the UK and northern Europe was also a factor.