London, UK: The Food and Drink Federation (FDF) says it is “good” that food and drink inflation has fallen from 7% in January to 5% in February and that it reflects prices stabilising across the supply chains.
Overall, inflation fell from 4% in January to 3.4% in February. The slower pace of food price rises helped push down inflation, along with soft drinks, restaurants and hotels, according to the Office for National Statistics.
FDF chief executive Karen Betts said: “Food and drink price inflation should continue to ease in the coming weeks. But some underlying factors are acting against this, from rising labour costs to erratic weather patterns, like this winter’s heavy rainfall across the UK which is impacting agricultural crop yields.”
Betts warned that investment in the food and drink industry is “worryingly low if the UK is to be confident in its food security”.
“And the government is making UK food and drink less attractive to invest in with its insistence on UK-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling,” said Betts. “This is an expensive and unnecessary policy that will particularly hit small businesses and exports, and we’re urging the government to reconsider.
“There are good, digital alternatives if the government wants to monitor food movements in the UK, which in time could also be adapted to ease checks with the EU.”
