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Clive Bull 1am - 4am
13 April 2023, 15:24
There could be "some light at the end of the tunnel for consumers", as a four pint bottle of milk has dropped in price at Britain's largest supermarket.
Tesco has cut the price of its milk for the first time since May 2020, hinting at a possible reduction in overall food costs to come.
The four pint bottle was reduced yesterday by 10p, bringing it down from £1.65 to £1.55.
Meanwhile, two and one pint bottles were slashed by 5p each, dropping to £1.25 and 90p respectively.
The supermarket retailer said after the wholesale cost of the product fell - which refers to the cost of buying products in bulk - they wanted to "pass that reduction on to customers".
Food inflation has hit people's pockets particularly hard in recent months, as it reached 18.2% in February, the highest it's been since 1978.
Milk rose in price by 43% between February 2022 and February 2023, making the lowered costs a welcome one, as a report released earlier this year showed 62% of people were finding ways to reduce the cost of their weekly shop.
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Tesco's UK and Ireland boss, Jason Tarry, reassured farmers the price drop will "not affect" how much money they receive for the products.
He said: "We've seen some cost price deflation for milk across the market in recent times, and we want to take this opportunity to pass that reduction on to customers."
The head of investment analysis at AJ Bell, Laith Khalaf, said while the reduction was only to a single product, it showed "some light at the end of the inflationary tunnel for consumers".
"It also suggests that the UK's fiercely competitive supermarket sector isn't simply going to cash in on profits as wholesale costs fall, because there's always a competitor waiting in the wings to do some undercutting," he added.
More than 1,000 everyday products will also be on price lock until July at the supermarket giant.