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

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….

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

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

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

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.

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…

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.

Yes true GSM.

But you’ve never seen such a hike in fuel costs either Kate. And everyone clamouring for wage increases. I buy a cucumber every week so I’m well aware that the price is much higher now.

That's faur enough choughdancer but I have been buying cucumbers all my married life and I've never seen such a price hike before. Obviously it's not a necessity but my DH likes it in his gin!

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.

Nightsky2

Cauliflower £1.25 M&S last week.

Huge cauliflower in M&S just before Christmas - 99p
Small cauliflower in Tesco ditto - 69p
Small cauliflower in Lidl ditto - 99p
I went to Lidl because veg was being offered very cheaply - all except cauliflowers when I got there.

Packet of cauliflower seeds: £1.75

Kate1949

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.

But cucumbers aren't in season at this time of year, so I would expect them to be more expensive.

That should say, The price of steel and aluminium soared in 2022.

Cauliflower £1.25 M&S last week.

The rate of inflation is based on prices in a number of sectors, not only food, and some where increases have been relatively low.

The simple answer is that the price of anything processed is going to be higher because every part of the process is affected by increased costs of production, especially fuel costs.

Pet food = cost of rearing the animals, cost of getting animals to market, cost of getting them to the slaughterhouse, cost of butchering, cost of factory processing and packaging*, cost of distribution to retail outlets, supermarket running costs.

*The price of steel and aluminium soared in 2020. A pet food tin will will be made from steel. Pouches will be made from a mix of plastic (made from petrol chemicals) and aluminium foil.

The simplest thing would be to buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook them in the cheapest way possible.

Indeed, Callistemon. Supermarkets grind farmers into the ground. Their ‘negotiating tactics’ are disgraceful.

Shinamae I truly think supermarkets are profiteering, but what can we do about it, take it or leave it?

Indeed, take it or leave it.

Also staff costs increased last year when minum wage increased. Staff costs are huge part of costs too.

Well, if farmers go out of business (and some are) because they cannot keep up with the rising costs of production then we will all starve. They are working on tight margins anyway.

If supermarkets are profiteering then it will show in year increased profits but I do know that not all of them give farmers a fair deal.

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.

ExperiencedNotOld

It connects to the price of certain items in short supply - grain that would have been sourced from Ukraine, for example. Grain is also fed to animals so that impacts on the cost of meat and dairy. Fuel used in production is more costly. Also for tinned goods the cost of the aluminium but I’ve no idea where that comes from. Wage rises, transportation costs - it’s an imperfect storm.

Some fertiliser is produced in Russia too; lack of supplies from there has pushed up prices.

We need to produce more of our own natural fertiliser.

Shinamae A friend told me about Lidl and Aldi tomato soup about a year or so ago. It was 35p and delicious. It is now 50p. Yes I think you are right. They realise that people are buying their brands and hiking the prices.

Kate1949

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.

Outrageous is the word because own brands have caught onto the fact that a lot of us are switching to them, and consequently sticking their prices up, albeit not as much as their branded products.l use Tesco’s own tomato soup. Can’t tell it from Heinz and also the less (sugar and salt) baked beans would not go back to Heinz now on principle… forgive the punctuation, my iPad over the last few weeks has inserted various things and I can’t be bothered to go back and change it. I expect the pedants would have a field day..😂

A cucumber in Aldi and Tesco is 75p! We love Aldi baked beans at 39p. For a week or so there were none on the shelves. I saw they were back and they have gone up to 45p. Outrageous.