Meat prices fall to lowest rate since 2021 – ONS
According to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), meat prices fell by 0.5% between February and March.
The figures showed that the annual rates for most types of food product eased between February and March 2024, with bread, cereals and meat seeing the largest effects of price easing. The consumer prices index (CPI) rose by 3.2% in the 12 months to March 2024, down from February’s rate of 3.4% and down from a 40-year peak of 11.1% in October 2022.
ONS said that the annual rate in March 2024 was the lowest since September 2021, when it was 3.1%.
Between the months of February and March, meat prices dropped 0.5%, compared with a rise of 1.4% a year prior. This resulted in the lowest annual rate since November 2021, reaching 3.1% in the year to March 2024.
ONS reported that the main downward effect behind the easing in the rate came from pork products. It said that overall, the annual rate eased in eight of the 11 food and non-alcoholic beverages classes, with the the only food category exempt being vegetables.
Food price rate eases over the year
Food prices rose by 4% in the year to March 2024, down from 5% to February. The 4% figure was the lowest annual rate since November 2021, and the inflation rate eased for the 12th consecutive from a peak of 19.2% in March 2023 – the highest annual rate for over 45 years.
ONS said prices were “relatively high but stable since early summer 2023”, as they rose less than 2% between May 2023 and March 2024.
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