Supermarket Cartels Treating Customers With Contempt

I guess supermarkets, like all businesses, exist to make profits, pleasing customers is only really important when it affects profits. Dairy, IMHO, is far too cheap and that affects farmers and how well they can afford to care for their cattle.

I realise that not everyone can do, or would want to do what I do, but I mostly keep away from major supermarkets. I buy tea at the Co-op, and will sometimes buy the odd pack of frozen veg or similar.
I have enough time to plan my shopping, and a car to get around in my rural area. I thought I might spend more on food than most, but find that it's a similar amount to average, albeit rather differently. I like cooking from scratch and make good use of my freezer.

We have a good local fruit & veg shop, which also stocks local milk & eggs, and some good markets.
We have a good butcher and I get game for free this time of year. I make a charity donation as I am willing to pay, but actually take the birds that shooters don't want (more fool them)
Cheese, butter, yoghourt are from a local farmer (who also sells other farm-made cheese)
One every 4-6 weeks I drive to a wholefood co-operative about 15 miles away and treat myself to lunch or coffee, as well as stocking up on most stuff.

Of course, occasionally I end up in a supermarket - usually in a family emergency or on holiday. It's an interesting comparison - some stuff very cheap and other stuff very expensive (to me)

Big companies utterly ruthless . Any excuse to get more money out of people . Also like to tell us that they are making things better for us . Rubbish .

I don't eat butter so don't buy it.

I admit it, I have not read all the postings, makes my blood boil but has anyone here commented on the "contempt" the Water industry pours on us? and the Politicians, of all persuasions!

we are the peasants.

mabon1

There was no shortage of butter here in the Conwy and Llandudno area.

There were in S Wales and Gloucestershire; it was more the supermarkets' own brands which were missing from the shelves. Not just one supermarket, Tesco and Waitrose but I'm not sure about the others.

There was no shortage of butter here in the Conwy and Llandudno area.

Butter is made from cream, milk contains less cream in the winter, around Christmas the demand for cream increases. The return for cream is probably higher than butter.
If you were a milk producer where would your cream be going?

Yes, I live in France and Sterling has become stronger since it was thought there would be a British election.

David49. I googled out of interest
What foods are VAT zero-rated? All unprocessed foods for human consumption, including raw meat and fish, fruit and vegetables, cereals, nuts, pulses and culinary herbs are zero rated

I think mokryna meant against the € because she lives in France. That's how I read it.

escaped

^sterling is very strong at the moment^
Yes. I pop across to France regularly and am amazed at how the pound has been creeping up and up. We're coming over in 2 weeks' time and an exchange rate of 1.22 is looking hopeful for plenty of shopping!
I guess it's the political uncertainty in France and Germany, and the fiscal constraints at the moment playing a part.

Sterling isn’t strong it’s just the Euro is even weaker, many of our imports are priced in dollars, since the election exchange rate has fallen from 1.34 to 1.24 to dollar.

Our food is cheap by comparison to most other countries many of which add VAT to food prices. What puts the price of the shopping basket up is convenience foods, free range, organic, or other premium choices all of which cost more to produce.

sterling is very strong at the moment
Yes. I pop across to France regularly and am amazed at how the pound has been creeping up and up. We're coming over in 2 weeks' time and an exchange rate of 1.22 is looking hopeful for plenty of shopping!
I guess it's the political uncertainty in France and Germany, and the fiscal constraints at the moment playing a part.

Witzend. This morning I bought a chicken breast in the market (not bio) 18.95 kilo. I believe it has increased in price by 2 euros since September.
I shall fry with onions and add mushrooms, cream and mustard, divide into three and freeze two.
Keep in mind, when converting into £s as sterling is very strong at the moment, so it will seem cheap in the UK.

Granmarderby10

I have heard young people who travel back to their relations regularly, eg India, Pakistani, Arab nations say that it’s no wonder people don’t eat more fresh fruit as what’s on offer is often inferior and tasteless by comparison.
I do agree with that and don’t bother with those easy-peel all purpose orange fruits any more and opt for more expensive oranges. Pears are often like bullets too same with nectarines and peaches.
But still we are lucky people to get them even if they do take weeks to ripen.

If we ate and preserved more seasonable fruit in the UK it wouldn’t rack up the air miles and taste better, the climate in Asia lends itself to a longer season for fresh fruit.
Same thing is true of vegetables.

Re comparative food costs, I often find food in France considerably more expensive - was once 😱 at the price of free range chicken breasts, not to mention a €4 cauliflower, and those were both a few years ago now.

But of course housing is usually rather less expensive, particularly in the area of fairly rural Burgundy we usually visit.

Plus a sister who was visiting from across the pond for Christmas, invariably remarks on how much cheaper good quality food (e.g. from M&S) is here. She does OTOH live in Cape Cod, a relatively expensive/wealthy area.

Granmarderby10

I have heard young people who travel back to their relations regularly, eg India, Pakistani, Arab nations say that it’s no wonder people don’t eat more fresh fruit as what’s on offer is often inferior and tasteless by comparison.
I do agree with that and don’t bother with those easy-peel all purpose orange fruits any more and opt for more expensive oranges. Pears are often like bullets too same with nectarines and peaches.
But still we are lucky people to get them even if they do take weeks to ripen.

I've bought more expensive nectarines from a well-known supermarket and they have been variable from juicy and delicious to dreadful.
I've bought them in Lidl too, which were cheaper and they have been consistently good.

Yes, we are lucky and take so much for granted.

I agree with M0nica's post.

If you look at the map in the link, the UK, Canada and North America spend the lowest proportion of household income on food in the world.

ourworldindata.org/grapher/share-of-consumer-expenditure-spent-on-food
March 2024

I have heard young people who travel back to their relations regularly, eg India, Pakistani, Arab nations say that it’s no wonder people don’t eat more fresh fruit as what’s on offer is often inferior and tasteless by comparison.
I do agree with that and don’t bother with those easy-peel all purpose orange fruits any more and opt for more expensive oranges. Pears are often like bullets too same with nectarines and peaches.
But still we are lucky people to get them even if they do take weeks to ripen.

To begin with we spend a smaller and smaller proportion of total income. In 1957 we spent nearly a a third of our income on food, now it is nearer 10%.
I think statistics in France show it overall at a third currently. It was 36.3% last summer. But then their food is superior quality, I'm not complaining.

Thank you MOnica for bringing up the fact food took a third of the home budget in the 50s, For me in the 60s it took a lot of juggling also on low wages.

In my 1964 school Housecraft book we had to plan meals for the week and price it up. For 8ozs butter was 1s 8p.

I do buy milk from the supermarket but I buy the one that says it pays the farmers more, I feel better for doing so but I know there is no guarantee they receive the extra payment.

By the way, whaat is the evidence for a supermarket Cartel? ,

A cartel is a group of independent businesses that agree to limit competition and increase prices to improve profits. They are illegal in this country. Any evidence you have that supermarkets in thiss country have formed a cartel should be reported to the police.

MOnica. It’s good to hear someone talking reality about food prices now and years ago
It is also commented on that if basic foods are dressed up the profit is increased

Yes, it's that critical moment between stiffly whipped cream and butter 😁

Allira

I have made it on occasion.
Once accidentally!

That reminds me of hovering over the children yelling STOP as they ‘helped’ with Sunday lunch by whipping the cream! 😮😩

Lets knock on the head the idea that food in this country is expensive.

To begin with we spend a smaller and smaller proportion of total income. In 1957 we spent nearly a a third of our income on food, now it is nearer 10%. [www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-42735294]].

Looking at prices, we have some of the cheapest food in the world ahdb.org.uk/news/ahdb.org.uk/news/consumer-insight-how-much-money-are-uk-consumers-spending-on-food-since-the-cost-of-living-crisis So to suggest that food is getting expensive is a joke.

For the poor there will always be a problem, but that is an income problem not a price problme. But for the rest of us, perhaps if we spent less on clothes and 'experiences', or whatever our big leisure or home extraavagence is and were prepared t spend a alrger proportion of our income on food. The one item, like housing that directly afects aour health and well-being, we might get better quality food in our shops.