The Conservatives have urged the European Commission to investigate food price increases, claiming that supermarket mark-ups are outstripping commodity price rises.
UK shoppers face retail increases of 30 to 40 per cent in their weekly shopping bills, it was claimed.
Neil Parish MEP, Conservative chairman of the European Parliament’s agriculture committee, has co-sponsored a resolution in the European Parliament on the matter, which will be debated in Strasbourg on Tuesday.
He said: “Food prices will naturally rise and fall in the marketplace, but we are concerned by the massive discrepancy between the relative small increase in the price of wheat and the massive increase in supermarket prices. “Consumers and farmers are the victims of food price hikes. For the first time in 25 years, food security is becoming an issue again. The European Union must take action to guarantee food supplies, ensure pricing at supermarkets is competitive, and keep prices down for the most vulnerable consumers for whom food is a big part of their household budget.”
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