The price of household staples, such as milk, butter and bread, continues to rise sharply, new data from the CSO has found.
The ‘cost-of-living’ crisis may no longer be at the top of the political agenda, but inflation still continues to push up the price of everyday essentials.
On Newstalk Breakfast, consumer journalist Siobhán Maguire described it as a “perfect storm” influenced by global factors.
“If you think back to the war in Ukraine in March 2022, we’re nearly three-years into that and that affected food prices dramatically,” she said.
“If you think of the likes of Durum wheat, which is used in making pasta, we would have taken an awful lot of that from Ukraine.
“So, that has the knock on effect of putting prices up on pasta.”
A shopping basket in a supermarket, © PA Wire/PA ImagesMs Maguire said the problem for consumers is that many items were already expensive and that many have been “fighting inflation with frugality”.
“We were already starting at a very high price point,” she said.
“If you take the national average up to January 2024, we were already looking at 2.5kgs of potatoes going up 38 cent.
“Spaghetti, 500 grams, was up 12 cent.
“So, we have so many factors going on; we have supply chain issues, there’s lots of different reasons.”
Ms Maguire said as well as global instability, poor weather has caused havoc for farmers.
“One of the reasons for such a huge increase in the price of staples - our cheeses and our milks - is because the climate has affected so many crops,” she said.
“That has had the knock on effect then on supply and shortages.”
Advice
For those who find the weekly shop a “constant struggle”, Ms Maguire suggested buying Own Brand items.
“I still think they’re the best value on offer,” she said.
“If we’re trying to save money, Own Brands are essentially the way to go because they are cheaper.”
The European Commission forecasts inflation of 1.9% this year in Ireland.
Main image: Bread on supermarket shelves. Picture by: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie
