A pint of milk could soon cost 50% more due to a 'tsunami' of rising farming costs, experts warn.
With steep increases in fuel, fertiliser and animal feed, coupled with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the price of four pints of milk could rise from £1.15 to between £1.60 and £1.70, according to UK's dairy adviser Kite Consulting. A typical pack of butter could also see an increase from £1.55 to more than £2, the Mirror reports.
Milk bosses from the UK and Europe all travelled to Brussels last week for emergency talks on the price of milk. Brits could soon be paying 80p rather than 60p for a pint.
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Last month it was reported that the price of supermarket foods was set to rise even further due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This included the likes of canned goods and sunflower oil, but also all supermarket goods due to the soaring costs of petrol and fertiliser.
According to the Telegraph, John Allen, of Kite Consulting, said milk prices had been low for 30 years and that was now "coming to an end".
Even before Russia's war on Ukraine, supermarket shoppers were warned to brace for an annual rise to their grocery bill of £180 as the cost of living crisis hit families across the UK. But now, the threats to food bills have increased.
Ukraine and Russia together produce around 30% of the world's wheat exports, according to the Agricultural Market Information System, which monitors food security in G20 countries and the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens to disrupt supplies of these vital commodities.
The average Brit gets about 30% of their calories from grains like wheat, according to 2021 government figures, but fortunately, the UK is "largely self-sufficient" in grain, a government report said last year. We grow around 90% of the wheat we eat a year, so shortages are unlikely.
But much of that growth relies on fertiliser, and the UK imports 40% of what we use. Fertiliser prices are already heading towards £1,000 a tonne, from £650 last week due to high costs of gas, which is crucial to making it.
Alongside the increase in food prices, families are facing all-time high petrol prices as well as an increase in bills for electricity, gas, mobile phones, and council tax. National Insurance contributions are also on the rise as well as bills for O2, Virgin Mobile and Sky.
