LONDON (Reuters) – British supermarket Sainsbury’s said on Monday it would invest 15 million pounds ($19.1 million) in cutting prices on basic items, to stay competitive and keep cost-conscious shoppers onside during the country’s cost-of-living crisis.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has pledged to halve inflation this year but his efforts are being hampered by persistently high food inflation, which was running at 17% in May according to industry data.
Britain’s biggest supermarkets say they are investing in price cuts to help consumers and will pass on savings once input costs start coming down.
Sainsbury’s cut the price of items including chicken breasts, pasta, rice, honey and jam on Monday, following similar moves recently by Morrisons, Asda and Marks & Spencer.
“These latest price cuts will help reassure customers that we will continue to pass on savings as soon as we see the wholesale price of food fall,” Sainsbury’s food commercial director Rhian Bartlett said in a statement.
($1 = 0.7861 pounds)
(Reporting by Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)
