Grocery store executives are being questioned by MPs over why meals costs are nonetheless rising as some wholesale prices are falling.

The UK’s greatest grocers – Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Morrisons – are going through a parliamentary committee analyzing the price of a weekly store.

The value of products continues to develop however not as steeply as in latest months, in accordance with the newest figures.

Meals inflation reached 14.6% in June, the British Retail Consortium stated.

That’s down from 15.4% within the yr to Could, nevertheless it doesn’t imply costs are falling, simply that they’re rising at a slower tempo.

British Retail Consortium chief govt Helen Dickinson stated: “If the present state of affairs continues, meals inflation ought to drop to single digits later this yr.”

Nonetheless, meals costs stay a key purpose why the general price of inflation within the UK stays stubbornly excessive.

And with many hard-pressed households additionally going through rising rents or mortgage prices, there may be strain on the supermarkets to defend the excessive value of purchasing.

On Tuesday, MPs will grill senior grocery store bosses about meals and gasoline worth inflation, asking if costs will come down this yr.

Politicians, trades unionists and the governor of the Financial institution of England have all questioned why costs on grocery store cabinets haven’t fallen as quickly as the price of some substances resembling wheat.

They’ve prompt that retailers could also be failing to move on financial savings and are banking the revenue as a substitute.

The Competitors and Markets Authority is analyzing the difficulty.

Supermarkets deny they’re profiteering from excessive costs and declare their earnings are being squeezed.

The grocers say they’re chopping costs the place they’ll, arguing falls in commodity costs take time to filter via to the buyer.

A lot of the large chains have just lately launched excessive profile worth cuts to staples, with Sainsbury’s on Monday the newest to announce it was investing £15m to cut back the price of fundamentals resembling rice, pasta and rooster.

Tesco, Morrisons, M&S, Aldi and Lidl have all lowered costs on primary meals resembling bread, milk and butter previously few months.

Nonetheless, some gadgets resembling milk and eggs stay comparatively costly in comparison with pre-Covid costs.

“These newest worth cuts will assist reassure clients that we’ll proceed to move on financial savings as quickly as we see the wholesale worth of meals fall,” stated Rhian Bartlett, meals industrial director at Sainsbury’s, and one of many executives as a consequence of seem earlier than MPs on Tuesday.

In addition to pointing to latest worth cuts, the executives are more likely to inform the committee that not all commodities have been falling in worth, stated Ged Futter, a retail analyst and former senior shopping for supervisor at Asda.

“Sure, costs have come down for some issues, however different issues have gone up like sugar, potatoes [and] chocolate,” he stated.

Wheat, which has fallen in worth on world markets, is essentially equipped from UK growers, and meals producers will nonetheless be shopping for final yr’s crop eventually yr’s costs, Mr Futter stated.

“They received’t get a brand new worth till they get into a brand new contract. Simply because costs have gone down globally that doesn’t imply the value right here goes down instantly,” he stated.

Equally, cheese bought immediately has been made with milk purchased as much as 12 months in the past, so received’t replicate latest falls in milk costs, he stated.

Jamie Keeble, co-founder of sausage and burger maker Heck which provides many of the main supermarkets, advised the BBC’s At present programme that the value of pork was anticipated to stay excessive for the subsequent 18 months.

He stated the one method supermarkets might decrease their costs was by asking suppliers to chop prices, however he added: “We’re actually not within the place to begin giving value decreases on our merchandise.

“On the finish of the day, [the supermarkets] are going to need to take a lower of their margins in the event that they actually need to decrease the costs on the shelf, that’s the one solution to do it.”

The British Retail Consortium has beforehand stated there may be usually a three- to nine-month lag for worth falls to be mirrored in outlets.

Mr Futter thinks grocery store executives will level to different prices affecting meals retail, from rising wages to the added fees associated to Brexit, resembling veterinary certificates.

A examine by teachers on the London College of Economics final month discovered practically a 3rd of meals worth inflation since 2019 was as a consequence of Brexit.