Some food producers could be hiking food prices “unfairly”, as Tesco chair John Allan has said it is “entirely possible” they’re taking advantage of the poorest.
According to reporting by the BBC, Allan said despite this, the leading retailer is trying “very hard” to challange price rises that it thinks are illegitimate.
Last month, UK food prices rose to a record rate with annual inflation at 13.3%, up from 12.4% in November.
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In an interview with the BBC, Allan said: “We have a team who can look at the composition of food, costs of commodoties, and work out whether or not these cost increases are legitimate.
“There have been some dramatic increases in commodity costs, energy costs and labour costs. On the other hand, if you don’t want to pay £1.70 for soup in Tesco or any other supermarket, there are own-label alternatives.”
Earlier this month, Tesco CEO Ken Murphy said suppliers supporting its new year price lock campaign are “100% behind” the move as it looks to help shoppers by keeping prices as low as possible amid cost-of-living pressures.
This came as Tesco announced it would be extending its price lock on over 1,000 products until Easter.
Last week, consumer watchdog Which? named Aldi as the UK’s cheapest supermarket in 2022, while Tesco came in at sixth place of the supermarket giants, costing £375.97 for a large trolley of 149 items.
