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Nottingham Post

Entertainment

Karen Antcliff

Morrisons accused of 'taking the mick' over price rises

Morrisons Asda Aldi Lidl Tesco Sainsbury Savers

The weekly shop has increased for most of us. However, when it comes to individual prices of products, you may not have fully noticed just by how much items are creeping up.

One supermarket has been accused of 'taking the mick' out of shoppers by putting up prices once again following a weekly comparison check by Manchester Evening News. The publication checks the price of basics like milk and bread and says it has kept a close eye on increasing costs over the last few months.

Comparing the bill for the same eight essentials at supermarkets Tesco, Aldi, Asda, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, costs have risen week after week. The publication says its study has found Morrisons to be the greatest surprise. Starting out as the cheapest, it has quickly climbed to the most expensive over a matter of weeks.

It seems that the increase - from £9.78 at the end of May up to £11.15 by July - is largely due to its meat prices, with its 500g pack of mince the most expensive of the lot at £2.19 and its 300g pack of chicken breast the second most expensive at £2.49. However, now the bill has shot up once again, after the price of its 250g block of butter rose from £1.75 up to £1.99 - a hike of almost 14% - and baked beans rose from 25p to 29p.

In the figures detailed below, the calculations have been adjusted for the price of the store's cheapest loaf as despite requesting the cost of its cheapest 800g loaf, the retailer provided the pro rata cost of its Savers loaf, which is smaller at 720g.

Shoppers are less than impressed with the price hikes. "They're really taking the mick now," said one loyal Morrisons customer. "I've shopped there for years, but the prices seem to be going up more than anywhere else. It feels like they're laughing at us." Another said: "I know prices are going up everywhere, but there seems no end to it. I like the quality of Morrisons products, but I can't keep paying more."

The basics, made up of a two-pint bottle of milk, a loaf of bread, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince, went up for all supermarkets earlier in July. For the first time, all of the retailers studied topped £10 for the basket of goods. This week's changes have taken Morrisons' overall bill to £11.78 - that's a difference of £1.66 from the cheapest, Asda, which has swiped the cheapest crown from Lidl, which held it for the last six weeks. It's a rise in the cost of Lidl's chicken breasts, matching Aldi's new price of £2.15, which has put it in second spot at £10.17, behind Asda's £10.12.

And Aldi has moved back into the third cheapest spot ahead of Tesco after it dropped the price of its mince to £1.69 - matching the cost of Asda's Just Essentials pack. Tesco is fourth at £10.32, with Sainsbury's at £10.84 and Morrisons at £11.78.

The only slight difference in sizes is the baked beans, which range from 400g in Sainsbury's and 410g in Asda and Morrisons, to the standard 420g in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco. Where Asda's pack of chicken is larger, we've worked out the equivalent price for a fairer comparison. Morrisons says that while its cheaper Savers butter is no longer stocked online, it is still available in stores.

Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket (as of Friday, July 22)