Price of pasta and vegetable oil soars 60 per cent as cost of shopping basket essentials rockets

25 October 2022, 09:48 | Updated: 25 October 2022, 11:23

The price of some budget food essentials have increased by more than six times the rate of Consumer Price Index (CPI) inflation, new data has revealed.

CPI increased by 10.1 per cent in September, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in October.

But data released today has shown the price of some of the cheapest items has risen by more than 60 per cent - meaning they are rising at six times the rate of inflation, leaving struggling families even more hard-pressed.

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The figures from the ONS showed the least expensive vegetable oil on supermarket shelves has jumped by 65 per cent in the last year.

Meanwhile the price of the cheapest pasta rose by 60 per cent.

Full list of items measured that increased in price between September 2021 and September 2022:

• Vegetable oil: 65.2%
• Pasta: 59.9%
• Tea: 46%
• Chips: 38.7%
• Bread: 37.6%
• Biscuits: 34.4%
• Mixed frozen vegetables: 31.9%
• Milk: 29.4%
• Crisps: 23.7%
• Tomatoes: 19.3%
• Instant coffee: 18.8%
• Sausages: 18.3%
• Onions: 18%
• Apples: 17.2%
• Baked beans: 16.2%
• Potatoes: 13.2%
• Fish Fingers: 13.1%
• Tomato ketchup: 12.1%
• Breakfast cereal: 10.6%
• Cheese: 10.4%
• Chicken breast: 10.1%
• Ham: 9.9%
• Bananas: 7%
• Fruit squash: 6.7%
• Yoghurt: 6.6%
• Pizza: 3.2%

Items that fell in price over the same time period:

• Rice: -0.2%
• Granulated sugar: -0.3%
• Beef mince: -7.4%
• Fruit juice orange: -8.9%

Statisticians have collected more than a million prices from supermarket websites over the past year to compare the cost of the cheapest available produce.

It allows them to better understand the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on poorer households.

They said that the cheapest tea had risen in price by 46 per cent, chips rose 39 per cent, bread was up 38 per cent and biscuits up 34 per cent.

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"While the recent spike in inflation began with energy prices, today's fresh insights using a new innovative data source show they are now filtering through to other important items, with the cheapest price of some staple food items rising by around two thirds in the last year," said national statistician Sir Ian Diamond.

Earlier this year, campaigner Jack Monroe called on the ONS to update the way it measures inflation to better understand what impact rising prices have on the poorest households.

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Some items also decreased in price.

Orange juice dropped 9 per cent, and minced beef was down 7 per cent.

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The ONS also published separate data showing that 72 per cent of people with prepayment energy meters are finding it difficult to pay their bills.

A survey also found that seven in 10 of black adults are finding it difficult to afford their energy bills, compared to just 44 per cent of white adults.

The survey showed that 59 per cent of Asian adults were struggling with energy bills.

The figures show over half of disabled adults reported finding it difficult to afford their energy bills and around a third found it difficult to afford their rent or mortgage payments - compared with 40 per cent and 27 per cent of non-disabled people respectively.

"Figures from our near real-time survey of people show that while rises in food and energy costs are affecting many people across the country, those who are disabled, from certain ethnic minority backgrounds and renters are among those struggling the most," Sir Ian said.

"With rises in the cost of living at the forefront of many people's minds, our new, almost real time, data showing just how prices are changing and shining a light on how different groups are affected have never been more important."