A pint of milk has broken the £1 threshold for the first time as shoppers continue to be bit by the cost of living squeeze. Some Sainsbury's stores have recorded a record price for a pint of milk with the product now costing £1.05 in its smaller shops
The price hike means Brits are now paying two-and-a-half times more for milk than a year ago.
Two pints now cost £1.35 in the smaller stores of the supermarket chain as inflation hit 10.1 per cent in July, marking a 40-year high, The Mirror reports.
The cost for a pint in Sainsbury's bigger supermarkets costs 85p - around a fifth less - while two pints will set you back £1.15.
All supermarkets across the UK saw increases in the price of milk last month after the rising costs of feed, fertiliser and fuel meant dairy farmers were struggling to make ends meet.
Higher dairy prices have been one of the biggest drivers of food inflation, which now sits at 12.8 per cent, the highest on record since August 2008.
According to official figures, the price of an average pint of milk was 43p this time last year.
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In a general statement on why prices are different in Sainsbury's large shops compared to its convenience stores, the supermarket giant said: "We're committed to offering competitive prices for our customers. Whether in our supermarkets, online or in a local store, we aim to make our prices clear, fair and appealing to our customers.
"Different sizes of stores have very different operational requirements and running costs. Rents, for example, are often more expensive in our smaller stores due to their locations.
"It can also be more of a challenge to deliver products to our local stores. These, and other factors such as staffing, local rates and a focus on convenience products mean there are differences in price between our supermarkets and local stores."
Elsewhere, the price for one pint of milk in Tesco is the same in both its bigger and smaller shops at 85p because the chain price matches with Aldi, the Sun reports
Professor Tim Lang, of City, University of London, told Times Radio the crisis in food prices is now close to the 1840s and “right up here” with the 1970s.
Retailers told the ONS that higher food prices and the impact of cost-of-living affordability concerns have dragged down sales in recent months.
And according to the ONS, the biggest contributor to the most recent rise in inflation was the increasing cost of food.
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