Supermarket food shop 'costlier'

The cost of the average supermarket food shop was 5.8% higher in May than at the beginning of the year and will continue to rise, a study suggests.

The cost of fruit and vegetables has risen the most - up 16% since January, according to retail analysts Verdict.

The price of branded goods increased more than the supermarkets' own brand goods, the report said, while the cheapest ranges saw little change.

Retailers were absorbing some of the impact of price rises, Verdict said.

'Painful rises'

"Although the price of goods is rising, the UK's grocers are helping to mitigate price rises," it said.

Recently, leading supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsbury's have claimed that their prices are rising at between 2% and 3% on average.

With 13p in every pound spent by shoppers going on food, Verdict suggested the increases it found would be "painful" and would affect the amount consumers had to spend on other retail goods.

It forecasts food price inflation will continue to be strong in 2008 and 2009.

The research was based on a "typical basket" of 100 grocery items.

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