HOUSEHOLDS struggling with the cost of their weekly shop have been given a glimmer of hope, with news that the prices of some staple products are expected to fall in the coming weeks.
A UK-based research firm this week announced that everyday items such as cooking oil, toilet roll and eggs had begun to drop in cost.
The average price of a litre of sunflower oil is currently £2.19 – 22p less than in the spring, according to research firm Kantar.
Similar drops were seen on other basic products.
Jersey’s biggest food retailer, SandpiperCI – which runs Iceland, Morrisons Daily and Marks and Spencer – said that ‘where wholesale costs have been reduced by SandpiperCI’s UK partners, those reduced prices have and will continue to be reflected in Sandpiper’s Jersey stores’.
A spokesperson for the company added that some wholesale food prices ‘have started to level off, and in the case of a number of products, prices have dropped’.
While costs for everyday items surged last year driven by a combination of Brexit, lasting effects of the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war, there are now signs the pressures are easing.
A spokesperson for the Jersey Consumer Council said: ‘We would expect to see grocery prices in Jersey follow those in the UK and come down, but this might take a while as we’re usually a little behind the UK.
‘We hope the Island’s food stores apply price reductions on all goods as soon as practicable, to ensure fairness for the consumer.
‘In the meantime, we would encourage Islanders to shop around for the best prices using the price comparison website and app, and vote with their feet.’
In July, Jersey’s Retail Prices Index fell for the first time since 2021 to 10.9%, which JCC chair Carl Walker said offered a ‘glimmer of hope’ that ‘we are over the worst’.
But food remained the second-largest contributor to the Island’s inflation rate at a 15% increase in the 12 months from June 2022 to June 2023.
In the 12 months to March 2023, the cost of bread in Jersey increased by 16.7%, poultry by 20.2%, cheese by 24.8%, and eggs by 13.2%.
Mr Walker said that Jersey ‘lags behind in the impact of price increases and decreases’ in the UK, but added that he anticipated ‘real reductions in food prices’ at the end of the summer.
The Coop declined to comment on whether they would reduce their prices and Waitrose said they were unable to comment on regional price changes.
The news that some food prices are set to fall comes days after several mortgage lenders began dropping their rates, with those reductions coming after a sustained period of rises that have left many homeowners paying thousands of pounds more each year to their lenders.
