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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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:
PickAChew · 21/10/2020 00:02

We already have. We could manage it again but I'd grumble. In fact I'd grumble more than about the covid price hikes because this one was so much more avoidable.

PickAChew · 21/10/2020 00:12

@LittleLapwing

Well Leave voters are just going to have to put up with me moaning on for years. Stupid fuckers.

That attitude is hurting you, and no one else. Think about it 💐

🖕
Fauvist · 21/10/2020 00:12

I don't see many labels with "Spain" or "Italy" on them. More commonly "Morocco", "Costa Rica" etc.

Yes. The EU have a fairly extensive trade deal with Morocco which takes account of various sectors including food, and also a deal with a bunch of central American countries inc Costa Rica. These deals will no longer apply to us when we are out of the transition period.

Moutarde · 21/10/2020 00:26

It's a load of utter shite brought about by Brexit.

We're steadily stocking up on wine and a few other things.

Can't see any other way this will end up.

raskolnikova · 21/10/2020 00:31

Some people seem to be able to excuse anything... 'Oh well, just eat less, it's not the end of the world!'

WTF? For a government to fuck things up so badly that there are price rises like this and food and medicine shortages in the middle of a pandemic... it's not okay.

Chevronsoup · 21/10/2020 00:33

No. As a result of lockdown increases I've had to start skipping meals. Very worried about further increases.

WizWoz · 21/10/2020 00:34

Eat less food? The vast majority of people would benefit from that anyway. Obesity rates fall and grocery bills don’t increase, it’s a win-win.

chaosmaker · 21/10/2020 00:38

@CloudyVanilla

Why should we have to do this :( fucking Brexit. What good is if if overall quality of life is worse. How is it worth it
because people voted to have their country back or some such nonesense and tories want to give back handers to all their donors, hence the upcoming tragic deal with the US. Probably including the NHS they said they wouldn't sell off.
raskolnikova · 21/10/2020 00:39

@WizWoz

Eat less food? The vast majority of people would benefit from that anyway. Obesity rates fall and grocery bills don’t increase, it’s a win-win.
Obesity won't go down if there's a shortage of fresh fruit and vegetables Hmm
Fauvist · 21/10/2020 00:41

Eat less food? The vast majority of people would benefit from that anyway. Obesity rates fall and grocery bills don’t increase, it’s a win-win.

I don't know about you but I'm not fat and don't need to eat less food. Nor does my skinny teenage daughter. Plus you can't guarantee that the 'need to eat less food' and 'can't pay their food bill if it increases' people are the same people.

And also, this is just a horrible thing to say. Have you ever been actually properly hungry for days on end? Not dieting or something, actual haven't got food hunger. It is awful. It is really really soul-destroyingly awful. I don't want anyone in our country to feel like that, because it's entirely avoidable.

Twitwooooooo · 21/10/2020 01:13

Eat less food Hmm

Are you serious? Like actually had a think about what you wrote before you wrote it?

And the PP who suggested half portions Confused

I eat 1,200-1,500 calories a day to maintain my BMI that falls in the middle of the healthy range. What do you suggest I reduce my calories count to? 600-750? Sounds healthy!! Hmm

To answer the OP, yes we can afford 20% on top, but I’m worried about the large number of people who can’t afford that increase.

Graphista · 21/10/2020 01:26

Wow! Still so many posts utterly unaware of the effects likely headed our way AND the reality for far too many families already in the uk.

I can absorb it JUST, fortunately, but I already only eat one meal a day so hardly extravagant anyway. Never get takeaways or eat out (housebound) I'm already veggie and frugal generally speaking.

I'm extremely worried about the many single parent households and others with already VERY tight belts who will have to tighten them further.

I can all too well remember skipping meals myself so dd would eat.

In addition posts like this:

We would just have to eat in season and british food
We will not die because we cant get french cheese German sausage and any other food from eu
Yes it will be different but we will adapt

Show a HUGE and frankly terrifying lack of knowledge on here alone despite the major supermarkets, grocery organisations etc plus posters on Sm with industry knowledge posting frequently regarding;

We DO NOT even come CLOSE to producing enough food within the uk to feed all the people in the uk - at any price!

Food and drink you perceive to be "made in the uk" is mostly dependent on various eu related factors like:

Machinery
Materials necessary to farming like fertiliser, insecticides etc
Farming subsidies - which the uk govt has merely vaguely said they will 'cover'
Experienced farm labourers

Processed food and drink is heavily reliant on ingredients, machinery, packaging etc from the eu

Have you checked the price of meat and similarly 'luxury' products from British farms? Do you know how little even people on benefits receive and how that won't cover such prices? That's of course not including those who slip through the net or are awaiting first benefits payments.

Staggering blind, ill informed, selfish attitudes.

We ALREADY have people in the uk dying literally of starvation on a regular basis. So actually YES more will probably die Hmm

Funnily enough the person who moans the most about food prices increasing & probably increasing more after Christmas is the friend who voted for Brexit.
She gets a very hard stare & then she changes the subject

I'm finding it harder and harder to not snap at such people in real life, and I'm fully expecting those not moaning yet to be the most annoyingly vocal post 1/1/21

oh and do not forget medicines and beauty products

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.

Plenty of Californian and South African wine on the market.

I don't see many labels with "Spain" or "Italy" on them. More commonly "Morocco", "Costa Rica" etc

Question - how do you think products from countries outside the eu actually get to us?

Hint: it's not often directly imported

Plus

Yes. The EU have a fairly extensive trade deal with Morocco which takes account of various sectors including food, and also a deal with a bunch of central American countries inc Costa Rica. These deals will no longer apply to us when we are out of the transition period.

It's really not just about the trade deals we have within the eu.

Veg no problem. Loads of winter veg in this country. there's really not. Even if we stop exporting we still don't make enough food to feed our population

If we had a decent intelligent govt we MIGHT have been able to improve matters slightly by supporting farmers to increase production a little but really that takes several years up to a decade to make any meaningful difference.

Interesting at least one person mentioned wwii/rationing - you might want to learn a bit more of the reality there too because that led to health consequences inc death for certain people, plus black marketing and farm thefts. It was NOT a golden age of everyone working together and acting fairly as is often portrayed in fiction.

Obesity rates fall and grocery bills don’t increase, it’s a win-win.

Not how population obesity issues work it's more complex than that, the cheaper foods are the more "fattening" ones

BiddyPop · 21/10/2020 07:28

I had allowed a 13% rise in my grocery bill at the start of the year. With Covid, I had to increase by a further 25%, which means my budget is now 33% larger than this time last year. And it's still not enough.

SonjaMorgan · 21/10/2020 07:31

To those PP saying eat less and then obesity rates will drop, you are wrong. Food poverty and insecurity lead to higher levels of obesity in the western world. If you can't afford to feed your children on unprocessed food most people move to heavily processed cheaper options.

Wavey123 · 21/10/2020 07:36

@CloudyVanilla

Why should we have to do this :( fucking Brexit. What good is if if overall quality of life is worse. How is it worth it
Because gormless gammons don’t want immigrants “taking their jobs”
Sostenueto · 21/10/2020 07:39

Nope am already helping to feed DD and Dgd whose at uni otherwise DD would be using foodbanks. Minimum wage zero contract hours no sick pay Frontline worker ( carer)single parent, living in private rented house ( because she can't get a council house in town she was born and bred in) which she now has to pay all of her rent as UC was took off her in June and that rent is over half her wages. I'm a pensioner with no savings. My cupboards are bare. So no along with all the other people on minimum wage which through lousy support from government will be expected to live on less than a fiver an hour as businesses close in tier 3 I could not pay an extra 20% on my food bills.

CakeRequired · 21/10/2020 07:43

... a lot of people won't be able to afford it though sad And they didn't vote for this either sad

Some of them probably did. I know there's several in a city near me who are poor, on benefits with little chance of ever working who are racist and voted leave based on their racism. My sympathy is nil for them. They weren't persuaded by farage, they've been saying get out the foreigners since before farage.

I could afford the 20% but it would mean less meat or just having to accept an increase.

superram · 21/10/2020 07:45

@AgeLikeWine a bit harsh about Nissan. I’m from the ne and it galls me That many of my family and friends voted leave but wishing mass unemployment on an area is a bit much. I appreciate it was like turkeys voting for Christmas though!

We would eat more vegetarian food and less treats but I might stock up on wine.

kowari · 21/10/2020 07:48

Off topic but what can you do with blackberries and damsons apart from jams? I picked 4kg of blackberries, rinsed and put in the freezer. That will do me 50 bowls of porridge this winter.

If food goes up 20% I will just change what I buy. We have got by on much less when we were poor. Rice, lentils, beans, root veg, tinned tomatoes, oats, bananas and so on. Peasant food, less variety but otherwise healthy and we won't go hungry.

Lex345 · 21/10/2020 07:49

It is going to be tough, tbh. It will definitely mean making different choices at the supermarket. I already cook from scratch 99% of the time. My priority will be making sure my children get a balanced, healthy diet. DH and I will make do with whatever works. It is so utterly crap this is happening.

areyoubeingserviced · 21/10/2020 07:49

Food prices have definitely gone up.
It will get worse in January because of Brexit.
Scary times

Botherfreedays · 21/10/2020 07:50

@AgeLikeWine

I voted Remain, and I am also in the very fortunate position that a significant increase in the price of food as a result of no deal wouldn’t make much difference to me. In fact, it might just be worth it to hear all the OAPs who voted Leave whining & bleating about being unable to afford to eat. Oh dear, what a shame...

What I’m really looking forward to, however, is the Nissan car factory in Sunderland closing. They can’t claim the weren’t warned about the potential consequences of voting Leave...

This Smile
LakieLady · 21/10/2020 07:50

@CakeRequired

... a lot of people won't be able to afford it though sad And they didn't vote for this either sad

Some of them probably did. I know there's several in a city near me who are poor, on benefits with little chance of ever working who are racist and voted leave based on their racism. My sympathy is nil for them. They weren't persuaded by farage, they've been saying get out the foreigners since before farage.

I could afford the 20% but it would mean less meat or just having to accept an increase.

I would say that 90% of my vulnerable clients, mostly on benefits, all in housing need, voted for Brexit. They thought they would be better off when we got rid of all the immigrants. Hmm

They tended to be much more invested in Brexit than they ever were in general elections.

And now they'll be the ones that suffer the most.

LakieLady · 21/10/2020 07:55

We can absorb a 20% increase, thankfully, but will probably have to eat more of the cheaper stuff and have fewer treats.

I really worry about how people who rely on benefits are going to manage though. Food bank use is going to increase massively imo.

Still, this is what people voted for.

GhostofFrankGrimes · 21/10/2020 08:05

Note also if people cut back on eating out in order to afford higher food bills, this will have a devastating effect on an industry already being hammered by covid.

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