Food prices still rising and will stay high for ‘some time’, top retailer warns

Asda chairman says there is a ‘few things’ government can do to help with rising prices

Food prices will remain high for "some time" and the government should intervene to help struggling families, one of Britain’s most experienced retailers has said.

Lord Rose, Asda chairman, also accused the Bank of England and ministers of being too "slow" to react to rampant inflation.

He said: “We saw the signs last year that inflation was coming. I think the actions that have been taken to curb it have been a bit slow in coming.”

The Tory peer, who previously headed up Marks & Spencer, said that government can't solve all society's problems but ministers could do a "few things" to help with the cost of living crisis.

“It [government] could talk to the food retailers to make sure that we are cutting out every extra cost,” he said.

Asked if he thought the 6 per cent rise in food prices could be outstripped, he said: “They are going to go higher and they are going to stay high for quite some time, I fear.”

Lord Rose's comments came after the head of Co-Op supermarkets warned that “chicken could become as expensive as beef” for the first time in years.

Lord Stuart Rose of Monewden speaks at a business conference (PA Archive)

Russia's war in Ukraine is driving up the price of feed, which is having a knock-on effect on the cost of chicken in shops.

Britons are facing the biggest drop in their living standards since the 1950s, with the price of fuel and energy also at record levels.

"We don't know what will happen to gas prices and whatever else and clearly that will be dictated by however long this war goes on for, but I am afraid there is knock-on effect for all raw materials," Lord Rose said.

"There is going to be a new level of costs for these raw materials and they won't go down," he added.

"It is a new high and that is something that people are going to have to accommodate."

Kwasi Kwarteng, the business secretary told broadcasters on Sunday there was “obviously an issue” with the rising cost of living.

Labour is calling on the government to introduce a windfall tax on the profits of oil and gas giants to help people with the bills.

Prime minister Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak, the chancellor, initially ruled out the policy, saying it would deter investment in the North Sea.

In the past few days, the government has told companies such as Shell and BP that nothing is off the table if that investment doesn't materialise.