The price of some of the cheapest food in UK supermarkets has risen by nearly two thirds, according to the Office for National Statistics.
The least expensive pasta available is up by 60% in the last year, while the cheapest vegetable oil on shelves has jumped by 65%.
Statisticians have collected more than a million prices from supermarket websites over the past year to compare the cost of the cheapest available produce - finding that the price of the least expensive tea soared by 46%, chips rose 39%, bread was up 38% and biscuits spiked by 34%.
“While the recent spike in inflation began with energy prices, today’s fresh insights using a new innovative data source show they are now filtering through to other important items, with the cheapest price of some staple food items rising by around two thirds in the last year,” said national statistician Sir Ian Diamond.
The ONS published separate data showing that 72% of people with prepayment energy meters are finding it difficult to pay their bills.
A survey also found that 69% of Black adults are finding it difficult to afford their energy bills, compared to just 44% of White adults. A further 59% of Asian adults were struggling with energy costs.
More than half (55%) of disabled adults reported finding it difficult to afford their energy bills and 36% found it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments – compared with 40% and 27% of non-disabled people respectively.
“Figures from our near real-time survey of people show that while rises in food and energy costs are affecting many people across the country, those who are disabled, from certain ethnic minority backgrounds and renters are among those struggling the most,” commented Diamond.
“With rises in the cost of living at the forefront of many people’s minds, our new, almost real time, data showing just how prices are changing and shining a light on how different groups are affected have never been more important.”
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