Christmas dinner veg more expensive after mults hike up prices

Shoppers will be forking out more for festive produce in the run-up to Christmas, as price hikes hit a slew of veg lines across the mults.

Several key veg lines such as carrots and potatoes have increased in price by more than 10% in the past month, The Grocer’s analysis of Assosia data has found.

Standout price hikes include Lidl’s Oaklands Chantenay Carrots (500g), which increased by 37.8% to 62p.

Sainsbury’s Carrots (500g), a Stamford Street Co carrot line (1kg) sold by the retailer plus Waitrose Essential Carrots and Co-op Loose Carrots SKUs all rose by 25% from the end of October. Potato lines, such as Aldi’s Nature’s Pick Baby Potatoes (1kg) have also seen increases (up 15.9%). 

Overall, prices have risen by an average of 6.7% over the past 12 months across 208 parsnip, carrot, potato and brussels sprouts SKUs sold by the traditional big four, Aldi, Lidl, Co-op and Waitrose, both this week and the same time last year [Assosia 52 w/e 28 November].

The data revealed an annual price increase of at least 10% on over a third of lines, while an additional 24 lines rose by more than 20%.

The increases reflect soaring production costs for root veg, coupled with the impact of poor weather on growing conditions and low supermarket returns for many crops – leading to warnings of shortages.

Some of the highest rises were in carrots. Tesco’s own label loose carrots rose 42.9% to 60p/kg, while Asda Crunchy & Sweet Carrots (500g) rose by 40% to 70p/kg and Aldi’s Nature’s Pick Carrots (500g) were hiked by 37.5% to 66p/kg.

Carrots also saw the highest average annual rise, with prices up 10% across the 44 lines sold in the retailers.

The lowest average price increase was in sprouts, which are up only 2.5% compared to last year. The highest rise was for a Waitrose Sprouts on Stalk (450g) line, which was up 12.5% to £2.25.

It comes as inflation could remain stubbornly high in fresh produce for some time yet, despite the recent reductions in food prices overall.

Last week, Lea Valley Growers Association secretary Lee Stiles warned empty supermarket shelves would become “business as usual” as existing challenges around weather worsened, and new ones emerged.