Sainsbury's chief executive Simon Roberts has said shoppers will not see food price rises until at least the summer, and Easter will be unaffected by conflict in the Middle East. He stated it was 'too early' to determine when higher commodity costs would hit shelves, as the supermarket has long-term agreements with suppliers to help protect shoppers.
Speaking from a fruit farm in Kent, Roberts explained that the effects of the war are unlikely to impact food prices until the summer at the earliest, as many farmers had bought fertiliser and fuel before the disruption and businesses had hedged commodity costs. He noted that the impact would become clearer in three to five weeks, helped by the British growing season reducing food imports until autumn.
Roberts called on the government to ease planning restrictions to expand UK food production amid increasing volatility from climate change and geopolitical disruption. He said Sainsbury's aims to have 60% of its own-brand fresh produce suppliers on agreements covering five or more years by the end of this year, involving 2,500 farms.
His comments contrast with Asda chair Allan Leighton, who suggested UK food price inflation is inevitable due to fuel and energy costs. The British Retail Consortium reported food inflation eased slightly to 3.4% in March, while analysts forecast it could remain at 3% by year-end. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson warned that higher costs from the Middle East conflict are starting to feed into supply chains, though inflation is not expected to reach the peaks of April 2023.
