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Get your free copy20 February 2012, 14:50 PM
- Food prices in the UK have increased considerably more than in the rest of the EU, according to government body Defra
The cost of food rose by around three times more than in France and Germany over the last five years, increasing by 26%.
The UK also now imports more food than it produces, which is believed to be one of the factors causing the higher prices, along with the recession.
In 2010 – the latest year for which statistics are available – just under half (49.4%) of the UK’s food supply was supplied domestically from within Britain, compared with 52% the year before.
This may be the reason why there has been a recent increase in online food shopping, as families shop around for cheaper produce and better deals from home.
Defra said that the average wage increase of low income households since 1998 rose by 22%, but this had been outstripped by food prices rising by 33% in the same time period.
