Food prices are still rising at the fastest rate in 45 years despite inflation dipping and a drop in global food expenses, according to the Office for National Statistics. The high cost of consumable goods has been attributed to various factors, including the war in Ukraine driving up the prices of staples such as grains and vegetable oils while rising transport and packaging costs are making imports more expensive.
Poor weather has also driven up the costs of fruit and vegetables in Europe and North Africa, which along with a ban on pesticides, has also resulted in Europe's smallest sugar beet crop in 20 years. It all sounds very alarming, but more than a year and a half after the current 'cost of living crisis' emerged, Bristol Live spoke to supermarket customers in Bristol about how they're faring and what it's like to shop in a continual state of emergency.
Even on the borders of affluent Clifton, Cotham and Redland, where the average property prices are £593,142, £498,008 and £615,739 respectively, some people said they had changed their habits. Speaking outside Sainsbury's at Clifton Down Station yesterday morning (April 19), Jane Keary said: "I've been more careful, I think about what I've bought.
