In March 2025, the inflation rate for food prices in the United Kingdom was measured at three percent. A period of continuous deflation between March 2015 and January 2017 preceded a return to a sustained rise in the cost of food from February 2017 onwards. While food prices were deflating between September 2020 and July 2021, they started increasing rapidly from August 2021 to March 2023. The inflation rate started to decline from April 2023. Inflation rate and consumer price indexInflation is commonly measured via the consumer price index, which illustrates changes to prices paid by consumers for a representative basket of goods and services. An annualized percentage change in the price index constitutes a measure of inflation. In order to maintain an inflation rate at a stable level, to enable the general public and businesses to plan their spending, the Government set a two percent inflation target for the Bank of England. The discounter boom The increase in food prices in the United Kingdom has shifted shopping behaviours amongst consumers. Value is now key and shoppers are changing their retailer loyalties. Aldi, the German discount supermarket retailer, overtook Morrisons as Great Britain's fourth largest supermarket in September of 2022. Aldi's market share reached double digits for the first time in April 2023. It is yet to be seen if Lidl, Aldi's discounter competitor, can also continue to rise up in the ranks and eventually take over Morrisons as the fifth leading food retailer.

Cost of food in the United Kingdom increased 4.50 percent in June of 2025 over the same month in the previous year. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United Kingdom Food Inflation - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

As of the first quarter of 2025, the consumer price index for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom was 139.2, indicating that food and drink prices have risen by 39.2 percent when compared with 2015, compared with 36.5 percent for overall prices.

In October 2024, the monthly Consumer Price Index (CPI) for food and non-alcoholic beverages in the United Kingdom (UK) reached 136.5, slightly up from the previous month. Consumer price indices are designed to measure changes in the price of everything consumers buy. More information on CPI can be found here.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index: Food for United Kingdom (GBRCPIFODMINMEI) from Jan 1960 to May 2018 about United Kingdom, food, CPI, price index, indexes, and price.

The United Kingdom: Food price index, world average = 100: The latest value from 2021 is 109.1 index points, an increase from 106.357 index points in 2017. In comparison, the world average is 105.854 index points, based on data from 165 countries. Historically, the average for the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021 is 107.729 index points. The minimum value, 106.357 index points, was reached in 2017 while the maximum of 109.1 index points was recorded in 2021.

The inflation rate for food and drink in the United Kingdom was ****percent in the second quarter of 2025, which was above the overall inflation rate for that quarter.

The UK inflation rate was 3.6 percent in June 2025, up from 3.4 percent in the previous month, and the fastest rate of inflation since January 2024. Between September 2022 and March 2023, the UK experienced seven months of double-digit inflation, which peaked at 11.1 percent in October 2022. Due to this long period of high inflation, UK consumer prices have increased by over 20 percent in the last three years. As of the most recent month, prices were rising fastest in the communications sector, at 6.1 percent, but were falling in both the furniture and transport sectors, at -0.3 percent and -0.6 percent, respectively.
The Cost of Living Crisis High inflation is one of the main factors behind the ongoing Cost of Living Crisis in the UK, which, despite subsiding somewhat in 2024, is still impacting households going into 2025. In December 2024, for example, 56 percent of UK households reported their cost of living was increasing compared with the previous month, up from 45 percent in July, but far lower than at the height of the crisis in 2022. After global energy prices spiraled that year, the UK's energy price cap increased substantially. The cap, which limits what suppliers can charge consumers, reached 3,549 British pounds per year in October 2022, compared with 1,277 pounds a year earlier. Along with soaring food costs, high-energy bills have hit UK households hard, especially lower income ones that spend more of their earnings on housing costs. As a result of these factors, UK households experienced their biggest fall in living standards in decades in 2022/23. Global inflation crisis causes rapid surge in prices The UK's high inflation, and cost of living crisis in 2022 had its origins in the COVID-19 pandemic. Following the initial waves of the virus, global supply chains struggled to meet the renewed demand for goods and services. Food and energy prices, which were already high, increased further in 2022. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 brought an end to the era of cheap gas flowing to European markets from Russia. The war also disrupted global food markets, as both Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of cereal crops. As a result of these factors, inflation surged across Europe and in other parts of the world, but typically declined in 2023, and approached more usual levels by 2024.

The FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) averaged 124.9 points in January 2025, down 2.1 points from December 2024. The highest value for the index in the past 23 years was reached in March 2022. However, the rate of food price increases has been decreasing since.

Food prices worldwide The annual FAO Food Price Index (FFPI) by category shows that the price of vegetable oils grew by a particularly large margin. One of the factors that influenced the spike in oil prices worldwide during 2020 and 2021 were the supply-chain disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, after the war in Ukraine, shipping costs and grain prices also had a noticeable impact on global food prices. Global food prices are calculated to have increased by 3.68 percent, due to changes in shipping costs and grain prices. The European Union (EU) has experienced a particularly high increase in the annual consumer prices for food and non-alcoholic beverages, as compared to other selected countries worldwide. Inflation in Europe

The inflation rate for food in the EU grew from 0.2 percent in May 2021 to 19.2 percent in March 2023, as compared to the same month in the previous year. In the following months, the food inflation started decreasing again, reaching 1.86 percent in April 2024. The overall inflation rate in the Euro area reached its peak in December 2022 at 9.2 percent. The rate has since fallen to 2.4 percent in December 2024. As measured by the Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), inflation rates in Europe were highest in Turkey, North Macedonia, and Romania as of December 2024.

Measures of monthly UK inflation data including CPIH, CPI and RPI. These tables complement the consumer price inflation time series dataset.

This dataset provides values for FOOD INFLATION reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Graph and download economic data for Wholesale Price Index, Total Food for Great Britain (Q04062GBQ313NNBR) from Q1 1884 to Q4 1914 about wholesale, United Kingdom, food, price index, indexes, and price.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index: OECD Groups: All Items Non-Food Non-Energy: Total for United Kingdom (CPGRLE01GBM657N) from Feb 1970 to Nov 2023 about core, United Kingdom, all items, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, and price.

In 2023, the annual average of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) of food in the United Kingdom (UK) was measured at *****.Consumer price indices are designed to measure changes in the price of everything consumers buy. More information on CPI can be found here.

United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Other Meat data was reported at 186.700 13Jan1987=100 in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 188.100 13Jan1987=100 for May 2018. United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Other Meat data is updated monthly, averaging 141.200 13Jan1987=100 from Jan 1987 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 378 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 194.400 13Jan1987=100 in Apr 2014 and a record low of 99.600 13Jan1987=100 in Aug 1988. United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Other Meat data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.I011: Retail Price Index.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index: Total Food Excluding Restaurants for the United Kingdom (CPGDFD02GBQ659N) from Q1 1961 to Q1 2018 about restaurant, United Kingdom, food, goods, CPI, price index, indexes, and price.

Comprehensive database of time series covering measures of inflation data for the UK including CPIH, CPI and RPI.

United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Fish: Processed data was reported at 253.100 13Jan1987=100 in Jun 2018. This records a decrease from the previous number of 256.900 13Jan1987=100 for May 2018. United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Fish: Processed data is updated monthly, averaging 146.000 13Jan1987=100 from Jan 1987 (Median) to Jun 2018, with 378 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 256.900 13Jan1987=100 in May 2018 and a record low of 100.000 13Jan1987=100 in Jan 1987. United Kingdom Retail Price Index: Food: Fish: Processed data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Office for National Statistics. The data is categorized under Global Database’s UK – Table UK.I011: Retail Price Index.

The Consumer Price Index (CPI) measures the change in price of goods and services in a country. In the United Kingdom (UK), the CPI for non-food and non-energy consumer goods reached approximately *** in 2024, a considerable increase from the previous year. Many countries saw inflation rates increase after the coronavirus pandemic and amid the Russia-Ukraine war.