FOOD prices are set to soar once again with bread, eggs, cheese and butter all being hit hard after the Budget tax hikes.
Shoppers have been told to watch their wallets in the second half of 2025 with costs expected to rise by over four per cent, trade experts have warned.
Breakfast items have been most notably hit by the skyrocketing costs to produce food in the UK.
Cereal and coffee prices are set to steadily rise in the coming months as well as the staple such as breads, egg, cheese and butter.
British Retail Consortium (BRC) CEO Helen Dickinson said inflation would likely “rise across the board as the year progresses”.
The reasons for this are “geopolitical tensions running high” and the “imminent £7bn increase in costs from the autumn budget”, Dickinson said.
She continued: “We expect food prices to be over 4% up by the second half of the year.
“If the government wants to keep inflation at bay, enable retailers to focus on growth, and help households, it must mitigate the swathe of costs facing the industry.
“It can start by ensuring no shop ends up paying more than they already do under the new business rates proposals, and delaying the new packaging taxes.”
Mike Watkins, NIQ head of retailer and business insight, says food inflation is set to push shoppers towards using more loyalty scheme discounts.
He said: “With many household bills increasing over the next few weeks, shoppers will be looking carefully at their discretionary spend and this may help keep prices lower at non-food retailers.
“However, the increase in food inflation is likely to encourage even more shoppers to seek out the savings available from supermarket loyalty schemes.”
Breakfast items have already faced rising prices in the past after it got drastically more expensive in January.
Food prices rose another 4.2 per cent with the return of punishing inflation after the Budget’s business tax hike.
The price of basic groceries also jumped by record levels as farmers, food manufacturers and retailers passed on the higher costs caused by pandemic supply chain disruptions and the energy crisis.
Supermarkets including Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Marks & Spencer have all warned that shoppers will face higher prices because of higher taxes in the Budget.
Meanwhile, Wetherspoons has also said that food and drink prices will have to rise.
