British families are hard hit by food price rises

Food inflation in the UK is nearly double the rate of most other developed nations. Prices have increased by 12.2 per cent over the last year, according to official Government figures.

 This is higher than in France, Germany,
the USA, Australia or Japan says the Organization for Economic
Cooperation and Development, an influential group of the 30 richest
nations. The group has compared official inflation data from across
its member countries and shown that only Iceland, Hungary and Turkey
are suffering from higher rates of food inflation than the UK.

In France prices have increased by 6.7
per cent, in Italy by 6.3 per cent, in Germany by 7.4 per cent and in
the USA by 7.1 per cent. Australia, which has born the brunt of the
droughts that have caused havoc to global wheat supplies, is
suffering from an food inflation rate of just 3.2 per cent.

In Ireland, which is supplied by many
of the same food manufacturers as in the UK, food inflation is 6.8
per cent.