Mounting costs leading to high prices

Responding to the latest CPI inflation figures which shows headline inflation at 10.1%, and food inflation at 14.5%, Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said:
“As input costs mount, and retailers feel the consequences of a tight labour market and a weaker pound, inflation remains high. Food prices are being hit hard by the war in Ukraine, pushing up the cost of fertilizer and animal feed, and resulting in high global food prices. Other goods, particularly those imported from overseas such as furniture and household goods, are being affected by the weak pound.

“Retailers are doing all they can to absorb as much of these cost pressures as possible and to support their customers through expanding their value ranges, keeping the prices of essentials down, and offering discounts to vulnerable groups. But they can only shoulder so much. Business rates bills are set to jump by 10.1% next April, which equates to an extra £800 million. On top of that, businesses will be paying far more than they owe due to the anomalies of a ludicrous scheme called transitional relief. Government must avoid this double whammy of extra costs, otherwise it is customers who will end up paying in higher prices.”