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Original poster

Can you easily absorb a 20% rise in your grocery bill?

418 replies

AbsentmindedWoman · 20/10/2020 21:15

I am worried about this, predicted to come early next year. I moved abroad last year but have people I love in the UK, some are budgeting very tightly already, and there's nothing I can suggest when they are worried.

I find it really troubling. Surely this is going to be the straw that breaks the camel's back for quite a few people who are coping with limited money? It could mean the difference between being able to get by and being stuck?

Would a 20% increase in food prices be difficult for you, or just a pain in the arse?

Is there any way a price hike can be avoided?

OP posts:
Janevaljane · 21/10/2020 22:28

Baked beans are "made" in England with American imported beans.

Rosebel · 21/10/2020 22:58

I'm not saying it's not imported I'm saying we could get by on cheap food, that's all. Obviously I chose a bad example.

Janevaljane · 21/10/2020 23:07

We import barely any flour.

Graphista · 22/10/2020 02:15

Rosbel it's not just the fact it's imported and likely to be held up somewhere, it's that us suddenly basically ripping up every trade deal with every country in the world via ripping up our deal with the eu will mean that even cheap foods will also go up in price by 20-30% maybe even as much as 40%

So it won't be as cheap as it is now, it's ALL going to go up

AmICrazyorWhat2 · 22/10/2020 02:41

Our food bills have increased massively since March. Obviously we’re eating at home As schools have been closed here too ( only now starting to reopen) but I think prices have increased here in the US. Plus I’ve been using a v. local but somewhat gourmet supermarket more often to avoid traveling/crowds. Their prices have always been higher.

We can absorb the extra cost, but our last credit card bill was a bit shocking.

gurteee · 22/10/2020 03:37

Medicines is what I'm most worried about. I'm on a medication that's dangerous to stop, can only be prescribed one month at a time and not one dr or pharmacist I've spoken to yet has been able to say there's been ANY plans put in place for such issues.

Worried about same Thanks

BadTattoosAndSmellLikeBooze · 22/10/2020 04:14

We can, fortunately. But we know many people who voted remain who it will be very difficult for and I really feel for them.

We also know quite a few people who voted leave who this will affect very badly. They voted leave for racist reasons, they didn’t have a clue about what it would all mean. I can’t feel sorry for them, I will always remember their comments when they found out they’d ‘won’. Unbearable. At least they’re much quieter now than they were I suppose, not shouting quite so happily about their win now they’ve realised what it will actually mean. I feel sorry for the children of these people who will lose in many ways though. Having stupid and very racist parents really will affect children more than it used to.

Medicines is what I'm most worried about. I'm on a medication that's dangerous to stop, can only be prescribed one month at a time and not one dr or pharmacist I've spoken to yet has been able to say there's been ANY plans put in place for such issues.

Availability of medications is extremely concerning. 😔

MariolaIsHere · 22/10/2020 06:13

To me it sound a good thing. Too many fat people in UK already. 🤭

MariolaIsHere · 22/10/2020 06:14

I mean less food not the medications. Like a fat tax.

CrowleysBentley · 22/10/2020 06:57

We are going to find things very difficult. We already shop at Aldi, meal plan, rarely drink. It will be difficult to cut costs further.

CrunchyNutNC · 22/10/2020 07:18

mariolalahere presumably to make such an offensive comment you are not aware of the campaign to have free school meals extended into the holidays because of the concerns that children living in poverty aren't getting enough to eat?

It's also worth pointing out that people get fat eating carbs, the cheapest part of the diet. Making the nation's diet more carb heavy will not address obesity, quite the opposite.

Fightthebear · 22/10/2020 09:02

Medicine shortages at the moment are nothing to do with Brexit.

There are plans in place to deal with medicine supply if we have no deal. That’s what the £77m deal for ferry contracts was about, prioritisation of critical goods. There’s also an air freight plan for time critical meds. This has all been publicised.

It would help if doctors and pharmacists read the news before scaring patients about supply of their medicines.

stairway · 22/10/2020 09:20

In general when people have less to spend on food, they don’t just eat less but they tend to eat cheaper processed food.

midgebabe · 22/10/2020 09:25

@Fightthebear

Medicine shortages at the moment are nothing to do with Brexit.

There are plans in place to deal with medicine supply if we have no deal. That’s what the £77m deal for ferry contracts was about, prioritisation of critical goods. There’s also an air freight plan for time critical meds. This has all been publicised.

It would help if doctors and pharmacists read the news before scaring patients about supply of their medicines.

And you think this government could organise a piss up in a brewery? You think they will suddenly get this right? Despite apparently still not listening to the NHS ?
gingerbreadfox · 22/10/2020 09:40

Yes but only because we have recently been eating a lot more plant based and swapping meat for lentils, beans etc has reduced our food bill and is still filling.

What worries me is those people from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have the skills to cook and therefore work out how to make meals cheaper/ go further.

Fightthebear · 22/10/2020 09:43

Midge - I don’t know tbh.

I was just challenging the assertion that some doctors/pharmacists have been saying no plans have been made for the continued supply of medicines. They have. And facts are important.

Whether or not they work I agree is a different question.

ListeningQuietly · 22/10/2020 10:12

Yes but only because we have recently been eating a lot more plant based and swapping meat for lentils, beans etc has reduced our food bill and is still filling.
You might want to read where those foods come from
because if they are imported .....

kowari · 22/10/2020 10:49

@ListeningQuietly

Yes but only because we have recently been eating a lot more plant based and swapping meat for lentils, beans etc has reduced our food bill and is still filling. You might want to read where those foods come from because if they are imported .....
Are these foods likely to go up more than the average 20% (or 30-40%) being stated in this thread then? If the price of most food goes up 20% then I could absorb it by changing what I buy to cut our normal food bill by a sixth. I am lucky to have a full time job so could make cuts if I had to.
ShipOfTheseus · 22/10/2020 10:52

@gingerbreadfox

Yes but only because we have recently been eating a lot more plant based and swapping meat for lentils, beans etc has reduced our food bill and is still filling.

What worries me is those people from disadvantaged backgrounds who may not have the skills to cook and therefore work out how to make meals cheaper/ go further.

And where do they come from, the lentils, beans, tomatoes, pasta, rice, etc? They’re imported. This is not just about meat. British meat may well drop in price if it can’t be sold abroad - at least in the short term - and there’s a glut here, but the price of many fruit and vegetables and grains will increase. I’m vegan and I’m very worried.
Whenwillow · 22/10/2020 10:52

@kowari there are 2 questions really. Could posters absorb 20% food rises now, vs coping with food shortages plus what is available being more expensive.
I'm not sure all the people on this thread are aware that we could potentially have both, particularly if they haven't read the full thread.

ListeningQuietly · 22/10/2020 10:56

kowari
Prices may not go up by much (because food stuffs are zero rated for VAT and duty)
BUT
supply problems and customs clearance costs WILL add to costs
so the shops will have less and it will be more expensive

At the moment 10,000 lorries a day cross the channel
and clear through immigration in less than two minutes a piece

from January, every single Lorry will have to have its import and export paperwork signed off (even if there is no VAT or duty to pay)
which, pre single market, added around 20 minutes to each transit

hence the need for the 7000 vehicle lorry parks to cope with the backlogs
which will run to days
which costs money in driver time, vehicle time and suppliers unable to meet their normal shipping schedules

we will be going from running through air
to running through treacle

it WILL add to costs

DTIsOnlyForNow · 22/10/2020 11:03

There are plans in place to deal with medicine supply if we have no deal. That’s what the £77m deal for ferry contracts was about, prioritisation of critical goods

That would be the contracts for the ferry companies with no ferries? So reassuring, thos critical goods are totally secure.

And if you swallow that I have a bridge to sell you

DTIsOnlyForNow · 22/10/2020 11:10

ll obviously not everyone can but my DC has successfully grown tomatoes and some salad on a window sill. I struggled to buy seeds this year as so many decided to try and grow some of their own food

So you're fine.....for 2 meals!

ListeningQuietly · 22/10/2020 11:23

I have a large vegetable garden - I love it but it does NOT make me in any way self sufficient on food.

For a start I am now harvesting crops I seeded in March
most people are UTTERLY unaware of the time lag on food.

And in response to the post up thread about wheat ....
the UK imports about 15% of its supply
and the 2020 UK harvest was not great

Janevaljane · 22/10/2020 11:35

If you have a large veg garden you can easily be self sufficient in veg. It's boring over the winter but doable.