SRC reaction to SNP’s proposed price cap on food

Responding to the SNP manifesto proposal to introduce a statutory limit on the price of some food items, Ewan MacDonald-Russell, Deputy Head of the Scottish Retail Consortium, said:

“Elevated food prices are a direct result of soaring supply chain and commodity costs and frankly relentless rises in statutory costs imposed by governments. Yet despite this, the fiercely competitive grocery market in Scotland has helped to keep food prices among the most affordable of all the large European economies.

“Supermarkets have always run on very slim margins, especially when compared with other parts of the food supply chain, but profits have fallen significantly in recent times. Even so, retailers continue to invest heavily to keep prices down, expand their affordable food ranges, lock in the price of many essentials, and raise pay for staff.

"Many of the costs keeping shop prices high are now arising from the muddle of new regulations and taxes coming from government policies. Rather than recreating 1970s-style price controls and potty gimmicks, public policy should get serious and focus on cutting retailers’ costs so that resources can be directed to keeping prices as low as possible for customers.”