Tesco shoppers warned worst is yet to come for skyrocketing food prices

TESCO shoppers have been warned of skyrocketing food prices as the cost of living crisis bites.

The chairman of the supermarket giant, John Allan, has said the worst increase in food prices is “yet to come”.

PA

Tesco shoppers have been warned that the ‘worst is yet to come’ in terms of price hikes[/caption]

Brits are already being crippled by seemingly endless rising costs as prices have gone up in the supermarkets, energy bills are due to rise further, and Brits are expected to fork out more on National Insurance tax in April.

The rises are largely out of government control with global demand to blame as well as restrictions on imports from Russia and more.

But it was just this week that energy regulator Ofgem confirmed the energy price cap will rise 54% to £1,917 in two months’ time.

That means the average household faces a record rise of up to £693 a year on their energy bills alone.

The Bank of England also doubled interest rates to 0.5%.

Plus, pubs and restaurants could be hiking prices by as much as 11% due to the costs crisis too.

But now it’s supermarkets that are feeling the pinch, as Tesco’s boss predicts only more rises.

Mr Allan said, though food price inflation grew by only 1% in the last quarter, they could go up by 5% in the coming months.

He said on the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme: “I predicted last autumn that food prices by the spring might be rising about 5%.

“But the worst is still to come – we are impacted by rising energy prices and our suppliers are impacted by rising energy prices.

“The likelihood is that that (1%) inflation trigger will rise, but we’re doing all we can to offset it.”

The Bank of England warned that inflation could hit 7.25% by April and it might not return to normal levels for two years.

The latest official statistics released in January showed that inflation soared to 5.4% – up from 5.1% in December.

But rises mean that the cost of a weekly supermarket shop will jump by £180 a year as the soaring inflation pushes up prices with it.

The cost of living is rising at its fastest rate in 30 years, the Office for National Statistics has said, but it’s not just having an impact on food, as furniture and clothing prices and more are all surging too.