LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s high food price inflation has not been driven by weak retail competition, the country’s competition regulator said on Thursday in an initial update of its probe into the sector.
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) report was published after some politicians, consumer groups and trade unions claimed supermarkets were profiteering during a cost of living crisis – a charge the grocers reject.
According to official data, UK food price inflation reached its highest since 1977 in March at more than 19%.
It has since slowed to 17.3% in June, but is still a major strain on the finances of many households.
The CMA did, however, say that rules on so-called unit pricing, or how much a particular product costs by weight or volume, should be tightened and retailers must comply to help shoppers compare prices easily.
The regulator said the next phase of its probe would examine competition and prices across the supply chain.
(Reporting by James Davey and Sarah Young, Editing by Paul Sandle)
