Food Inflation Is Coming Down - Rejoice?

Inflation may be coming down, but that doesn’t mean that food prices are. They’re just going up more slowly…

Inflation isn’t just about food, we all know that food prices have gone up massively more than many other products. Inflation coming down does not mean prices aren’t still going up.

The FT reports that Rich world food price inflation falls to lowest level since before Ukraine War. This is a rather more nuanced interpretation than the BBC5 report.

Remember, Food inflation coming down does not mean that the price of food is falling simply. It mean that food prices are rising more slowly than they were 1 to 2 years ago.

I would agree with that, food prices are still rising but far more slowly than at the height of the inflation, when week after week after week the price of food was sometimes increasing by over £1 a week.

For many years now I have had a food delivery from Sainsbury’s weekly .
My GD now has a car so last week she suggested we go to the store and do a shop
Whether or not I didn’t look at prices , I certainly didn’t have the comparison in front of me as I perused the shelves , or just got carried away but my shop cost £124 , normally £70/80.
I certainly didn’t notice any lower prices.
I shall stick to delivery even taking into account the delivery charge.

Writing that down has made me think more closely and it now occurs to me that certain things I didn’t need were slipped into the trolley!
My GD doesn’t help with the online ordering, I shall revert to that in future or make her stay in the car.
It was certainly an expensive shop though.

The news item had nothing to do with falling prices, just that the increase in pricis is slowing down - which they are.

People seem confused. As has already been said, falling inflation does not mean falling prices. It means that the rate at which prices are rising has fallen. As MOnica says, that is so. My shopping spend has remained pretty consistent for some time now, as has the price of petrol. The unit cost of electricity has now fallen.

Wheniwasyourage

Inflation may be coming down, but that doesn’t mean that food prices are. They’re just going up more slowly…

This.
It is often misunderstood. People think inflation coming down means prices are coming down. They’re not, only rising more slowly.

maddyone

Wheniwasyourage

Inflation may be coming down, but that doesn’t mean that food prices are. They’re just going up more slowly…

This.
It is often misunderstood. People think inflation coming down means prices are coming down. They’re not, only rising more slowly.

Yes, food inflation fell from 7% in January 2024 to 5% in February 2024, down from 15% a year ago.

Inflation rose rapidly because of the increased costs of production, notably the prices of fuel and fertilisers as well as labour costs.
This was not just in the UK.

We do still waste far too much food.

A reduction in inflstion merely means the speed with which prices are rising is slowing down.

I find it depressing that despite 'inflation being a word that is constantly being used and is in the papers and other media daily and has been for decades, so many people still do not know what it means. It is not as if it is difficult to find out. Even a paper based dictionary will include the word and the resources online are immense - and you do nto have to admit your ignorance, both dictionaries and the internet can be accessed in the privacy of your own home.

annsixty

For many years now I have had a food delivery from Sainsbury’s weekly .
My GD now has a car so last week she suggested we go to the store and do a shop
Whether or not I didn’t look at prices , I certainly didn’t have the comparison in front of me as I perused the shelves , or just got carried away but my shop cost £124 , normally £70/80.
I certainly didn’t notice any lower prices.
I shall stick to delivery even taking into account the delivery charge.

The prices aren't lower annsixty, it's just that they're not going up as rapidly as they did a year or two ago.

And, yes, it's tempting to pick up what you think are "bargains" or "looks delicious for a change" when you're in the shop.
You can come home with all kinds of things you never knew you wanted.

I agree that too many people don't understand the meaning of dropping inflation, and how it is reported doesn't help. Put simply, if your shopping cost £100, 13% inflation means it costs £113, a drop in inflation to say 5% means an increase to £118, not a decrease (figures are rough, for illustration purposes). It's like the great hurrah because fuel prices are dropping; they are still higher than 2 years ago. Rishi Sunak was right when he said that this country needs better maths education, although he may regret it when people work it out!

You can come home when all sorts of things you never knew you wanted.

And forget the things you did know you wanted!

he may regret it when people work it out

Is it? Everything I buy is up and has stayed up ... but be grateful woman, the government has allowed me an extra fiver a week to compensate for it ...

Inflation doesn't mean prices come down. It just means they continue to go up but go up more slowly.

And, has been said, MadeInYorkshire, it will stay up and just get more expensive more slowly. So keep a check on your extra fiver and enjoy it while its effect lasts!

Why do we bother explaining? And not for the first time …

Where is the banging-your-head-against-a-brick-wall emoji when you need it? I think there is a lot of need for it at the moment.

Put simply, if your shopping cost £100, 13% inflation means it costs £113, a drop in inflation to say 5% means an increase to £118, not a decrease (figures are rough, for illustration purposes).
Well, it's £113 plus 5% of £113
£118.65 I think. Sorry to be picky!!

Anyway, it's still going up not down.

maddyone

^You can come home when all sorts of things you never knew you wanted.^

And forget the things you did know you wanted!

Like eggs!! 😃

But there were some offers.

I’m a sucker for offers.
And I regularly come home without things I went for

You have to keep explaining it because the Tory press spin it for the benefit of their readers.