Apparently inflation is it 10.5% so please explain to me how food prices are rising so astronomically.

DD was amazed at the price of cucumbers here - 39p and they are hardly more when transported from Spain when out of season here.

A$4 each in Australia, produced locally.
UK cucumbers were around 39p last year in the UK and €1 in France (according to our cousin).

We really do have to begin realising the true cost of producing our food.

Germanshepherdsmum

*Jaxjacky*’s post explains the increases. And of course at this time of year cucumbers are imported, just as beans are. Do you think it’s outrageous that the various people employed in growing, harvesting, manufacturing, packing, transportation and retail should have pay rises? Do you understand that businesses’ fuel costs have risen just as ours have? How can you expect prices not to increase, or only by a penny or two? It isn’t profiteering, it’s reality.

Sorry GSMI. Don’t agree with you at all on this. I think there is blatant profiteering even after all the additional cost being factored in…

maddyone

Before we went to New Zealand at the end of December, the cost of Paracetamol Plus was 49 pence in my local Savers. When I came back I found it is now £1. The same product in Superdrug is now £1.99. I understand that everything is going up because of rising on costs, but for a product to rise 100% in two months seems rather excessive to me. Nonetheless it is still cheaper than at Superdrug.

I’ve stocked up on paracetamol this week maddyone, I’ve got raging toothache and waiting to have one out. The ordinary paracetamol were 32p in B&M, and I think the ones with caffeine were around 60p. If you have one near you it’s worth checking their prices, as they are usually the cheapest on OTC medicines.

In 2020, the UK imported $208M in cucumbers, the third largest importer of cucumbers in the world primarily from: Netherlands ($102M), Spain ($99.9M), Germany ($2.57M), Poland ($1.23M), and France ($952k).

In October 2022, the increase in annual imports was explained primarily by an increase in imports from Morocco (£533k or 248%), Spain (£484k or 4.73%), and Egypt (£59.8k or 126%)

oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/cucumbers/reporter/gbr?redirect=true

So the UK is now importing more from non EU countries - which are further away = more transportation costs.

Our domestic cucumber growers have been hung out to dry by Brexit so the UK will become increasingly reliant on imported salad crops, even in summer:

… more than a third of the growers [in the The Lea Valley Growers Association] have applied for planning permission to knock down 60 hectares of greenhouses to replace them with housing estates, warehouses and small factories. Their applications have been granted.

www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/sep/06/cucumber-capital-growers-selling-up-as-brexit-and-energy-crisis-hits-britains-vegetable-industry

Covid has increased demand for paracetamol. Global demand is pushing up prices as well as the costs of manufacture. Most of the UK’s paracetamol is manufactured in India who in turn rely on China for the raw ingredients.

www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/12/coronavirus-triggers-sharp-rise-in-price-of-pain-relief-medication

Having said all of that, there is a big premium in the pet market for all pet products.

Warren Ackerman, writing for The Grocer in 2019:

Petfood is one of the fastest-growing segments in the food industry right now. The humanisation of petfood is showing no limits, which is driving premiumisation and margin gains for operators. According to Euromonitor, the petfood market was worth £67bn in 2018, but is forecast to grow to £102bn by 2024.

Pet ‘parents’ are brand loyal, meaning private label penetration is low. Longer-term trends around ageing populations and smaller household sizes should help accelerate growth. Pet ownership among millennials is (perhaps surprisingly) higher than older generations, boosting growth. Given the strength of the emotional bond, 76% of owners say they would spend any amount to keep their pets healthy.

www.thegrocer.co.uk/petcare/petfood-is-a-huge-opportunity-for-brands-and-the-futures-personal/597207.article

And this from November 2022 especially the last paragraph ... big companies fighting hard to make small margins on retail meat and processed food [realising] there is a lot more money in dog and cat food.

www.foodmanufacture.co.uk/Article/2022/11/11/Pet-food-How-is-the-cost-of-living-crisis-and-global-supply-chains-impacting-manufacturers

I think you have to face the facts as set out here Shinamae.

Germanshepherdsmum

I think you have to face the facts as set out here Shinamae.

Doesn’t alter my opinion GSM, please allow me to have it….