© Sean Smith/Guardian News & Med
Gloom: Waitrose boss Mark Price warned that food prices are likely to rise even further in the coming years.
Gloom: Waitrose boss Mark Price warned that food prices are likely to rise even further in the coming years.
Waitrose managing director Mark Price said recent increases in the price of bread and vegetables were 'just the tip of the iceberg', with prices set to rise across the board.
'Everything will be hit,' he added.
And with farmers facing poor harvests after the second wettest year on record, Britain's impending food crisis looks set to last 'for the foreseeable future'.
Another punishing rise in the cost of the weekly shop - which is already increasing faster than wages - will hit families struggling to make ends meet. Living standards are already under their greatest squeeze in a generation, compounded before Christmas when energy providers announced inflation-busting price increases.
Now food prices are likely to carry on rising after crops were hampered by appalling weather. Mr Price said: 'We're seeing input food inflation of around 3 to 3.5 per cent, but we expect it go up to as much as five.
'But you can't ever say how high these increases will end up being. The one safe thing to say is that demand will out-strip supply. It is likely that food inflation will continue to rise for the foreseeable future. In some commodities, the increases will be massive. It's bread, vegetables, all produce.
