British shoppers are facing a significant increase in the price of mince pies after the Christmas staple has seen a sharp rise in costs due to poor harvests affecting the international sultana market.

The impact of this shortage is being felt across major UK supermarkets, with supermarket giant Tesco’s premium mince pie packs having seen a £1 increase, jumping from £2.50 to £3.50 – a 40% rise.

Across Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda, and Morrisons, mince pie prices have risen by an average of 26% over the past two years, according to figures compiled by Assosia for The Grocer.

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The root cause of these price hikes can be traced back to issues in the sultana market.

Turkey, the largest producer of sultanas, has experienced two consecutive years of poor harvests and Turkish sultana prices reached near-record highs over the summer, currently selling at $3,600 (£2,800) a tonne, according to the Expana Benchmark Prices for Turkish sultanas. 

The increase in mince pie prices is part of a broader trend of rising prices for Christmas essentials.

According to the latest data from Kantar, the cost of an average Christmas dinner for four has risen to £32.57, up 6.5%, which has largely been driven by the price of turkey and vegetable staples.

Potatoes are one of the products with the largest price rises, up 16.2% to £1.65, followed by cauliflower, up 14.6% to £1.18 and carrots, up 11.4% to 49p.