Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt will meet with food manufacturers to raise concerns about high food prices and discuss ways to ease the pressure on UK households.
Britain’s finance minister will also meet on Tuesday with the Competition and Markets Authority to discuss the watchdog’s probes into the fuel and grocery markets, the Treasury said in an emailed statement.
The government is trying to find ways to allay the impact of soaring prices, with food inflation — currently running at more than 19% — a particular area of concern, especially for low-income households. Hunt will ask manufacturers to look at ways they can help consumers, according to the Treasury.
“High food prices are proving stubborn so we need to understand what’s driving that,” Hunt said in the statement. “I’m asking industry to work with us as we halve inflation, to help ease the pressure on household budgets.”
The engagement with the CMA and manufacturers follows a flurry of government activity in the food sector, including a meeting earlier this month between supermarket chiefs and Chief Secretary to the Treasury John Glen, and last week’s Farm to Fork summit, during which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced he’ll allow an extra 10,000 temporary visas for agricultural workers next year.
One area the government is looking to make reforms is around the unit pricing of foods, to make it easier for consumers to compare products, the Treasury said.
