UK shoppers are likely to see a further rise in their grocery bills in the months ahead, according to Tesco chairman John Allan.
Household budgets are coming under increasing pressure as prices rise sharply for essentials such as food and energy.
On the BBC’s Sunday Morning programme, Allan warned that “the worst is yet to come” with a potential 5% surge in food prices by the spring.
He said he was aware that some people were on very tight budgets and having to choose between food and heating, “and that’s clearly not a situation that any of us should tolerate”.
Acknowledging that the cost of food accounts for a bigger proportion of spending for people on lower incomes, Allan said the pressure faced by poorer households is likely to increase.
“I think the combination of increasing energy prices, the impact of National Insurance increases [in April] on people’s incomes, and to a much much lesser extent increasing food prices, is going to squeeze the hardest-up still harder.”
A recent analysis by food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe highlighted how everyday essentials, such as the cheapest own-brand pasta and rice, have gone up in price by more than the official inflation rate.
However, Allan said this was not the case at Tesco.
“As far as Tesco is concerned, we have 2,100 products on our lowest price. We’re either price matching against Aldi, or it’s our own exclusive at Tesco range.”
That number of products has been growing in recent months rather than decreasing, he added.
