UK grocery price inflation hits record high as more stores impose rationing: CNN

NEW YORK, March 1 (Xinhua) -- A measure of UK grocery price inflation soared to a record high in February, which is more bad news for consumers already facing a shortage of fruit and vegetables that has led to rationing at major supermarkets, according to a CNN report.

Grocery prices rose 17.1 percent in the four weeks to Feb. 19, compared with the same period a year ago, the report said, citing data published by Kantar on Tuesday.

"That's the highest rate of inflation since the data company started tracking it in 2008, and is equivalent to adding an extra 811 pounds (about 980 U.S. dollars) to a household's average yearly grocery bill," the report said.

Fraser McKevitt, the head of the retail and consumer data unit at Kantar, was quoted as saying that price increases were "having a big impact on people's lives."

A quarter of UK shoppers said they were struggling financially, according to a Kantar survey in January, up from a fifth during the same period in 2022.