Wonder why groceries cost so much?

passatrider

blue_monkey wrote: »

Maybe their suppliers rents/rates/electric/wage/fuel bills have increased. Maybe the cost of poultry has gone up. Maybe the cost of rice has been increased.

You can either put it in your trolley or you find something cheaper to eat instead.

As I have said on another thread, in one corner people are complaining that food is too high, in another corner we are complaining about animal welfare, more money for farmers, a higher wage for minimum wage workers, more british foods - all of these things come at a price if we want them. One that is going to be felt in our pockets.

No, it's blatant profiteering end of.

happy35

i am very careful with money, i could afford to spend more but choose not to

We definitely eat better with a lot more variety than I had growing up in the 70s and 80s, dont think there was a lot of variety available then. i remember most meals were sunday dinner type meals, fry up potates/veg on a Monday with cold meat, chips with Pek another day etc.

Not a lot of fresh fruit really or orange juice, this was a treat at Christmas and one bottle of orangeade between the 4 of us on a Sunday and this was a treat with a right fuss made about it

My mam thinks that food was a lot more expensive then in comparison with today, just things were made to stretch

passatrider

dmg24 wrote: »

blue_monkey has given you several valid reasons why the price could have changed. You do not even have the manners to acknowledge the information she has given, which is far more informed and balanced than your response.

If you say so..

So what knowledge do you bring to the discussion then considering you seem to spend most of your time patrolling the benefit boards??

blue_monkey_2

happy35 wrote: »

i am very careful with money, i could afford to spend more but choose not to

We definitely eat better with a lot more variety than I had growing up in the 70s and 80s, dont think there was a lot of variety available then. i remember most meals were sunday dinner type meals, fry up potates/veg on a Monday with cold meat, chips with Pek another day etc.

Not a lot of fresh fruit really or orange juice, this was a treat at Christmas and one bottle of orangeade between the 4 of us on a Sunday and this was a treat with a right fuss made about it

My mam thinks that food was a lot more expensive then in comparison with today, just things were made to stretch

I reckon your mam is right to be honest.

I'll tell you what I remember, my dad bringing one packet each of Prawn Cocktail crisps home with him one night. They were a new flavour, how excited were we. We only had 4 flavours before that. LOL, what an exciting life we led!!

My dad used to bring rabbits home every now and then although I would not eat it as I had pet rabbits. And he used to fish, I remember he caught a huge lobster one day at the coast and he went to the fishmongers and swapped it for some fish for tea. And we had an allotment and a garden. I remember getting the peas out of their pods on a Sunday. And my mums sausage pie.

I think back then we were more resourceful, I am not saying we are not now but I do think that as a generation, we are too lazy. We expect it all to be packed for us and we expect it cheap. I did not even have pasta as a child, it was always potatoes. And more potatoes. And then potatoes. LOL. Potatoes might have featured somewhere.

Next year food prices are going to be worse because of the droughts this year and a lot of crops have already been destroyed. Because of what has been happeneing in China over the last few years, they have lost a lot of rice crop and so the price of rice is going to be affected. Rice is also grown in Brazil and they also had flooding this year. All of these will take a toll on food prices.

People are always going to scream profiteering but the reason that a lot of stuff is cheap is because Tesco/Asda have managed to buy a huge amount of bulk stock at a good price, these prices have been passed onto you - the consumer. However, if there is not as much stock to buy and Tesco and Asda are fighting over who wants it, the price is going to rise to reflect this as they will not be able to buy it at 5p. The only person profiteering is the supplier in the chain, however, his farmer could also be wanting to make more money. This happens with every brand and it is all about bulk buying power and who wants the stock.

Bulk buying means there will be less to pay in shipping costs, per packet. If there have not been the volume of goods to buy at a decent discount, the shipping will still cost the same and so this has to be reflected in the price also.

WhiteHorse

Whilst there are undoubtedly valid reasons for price rises here and there, what we are seeing are considerable rises across the whole spectrum of foods.

That suggests shareholder greed.

geordie_joe

blue_monkey wrote: »

However, if there is not as much stock to buy and Tesco and Asda are fighting over who wants it, the price is going to rise to reflect this as they will not be able to buy it at 5p.

I think you have fallen for the spin they put out to justify their price rises.

Take your example, Tesco/Asda buy rice for 5p, but sell it to us for 100p. This is because the 5p they pay for the rice is only a small part of the cost, they have to pay for the packaging, transportation, the wages of any number of staff, including van drivers, shelf stackers, the sales people, the person who sets the prices at head office, the chairman, the cleaner, the CA staff and god knowns how many other people.

So there is a flood and the price of rice rises by 20%. So now Tesco/Asda have to pay 6p for the rice.

But they announce that the price of rice has risen by 20%, and put the price of their rice up to 120p.

They can do this because you think a 20% rise in the price of the raw product means a 20% rise in the price of the item on the shelf.

The real reason prices rise is greed, nothing else, just pure greed.

Middy

People moan about price rises, but some people still waste an awful lot of food. I have heard of people making a big chilli con carne. What doesn't get eaten, gets binned. If I have made too much, I box it up and stick in the fridge for a couple of days. If there isn't enough for a meal's worth, I stretch it with either a tin of chopped tomatoes or half a tin of baked beans and some mushrooms. So this meal costs me about 40p extra.

I ignore best before dates. On Saturday, I had some beef chilli kebabs for tea and the use by date was 10th June and looked as perfect as the day I bought them 10-12 days prior.

Next time you are chucking out stuff, work out how much it cost. You are throwing money in the bin.

Sometimes friends have bought reduced stuff only to find they don't use it and bin it - not a bargain then!

lilykim

It certainly pays to look for offers etc. But the main thing I do is log into MSE daily! I certainly agree that prices are rising, and like many people my wages are not. Except of course for our boss, new jag, two holidays a year, new kitchen in his 4 bed detached house...............

Skint_but_working

The security guard WAS doing his job, he is simply there as a deterrent, it is not his place to tackle people like this or to chase them out of the shop. That is a job for the police, the security officer will have contacted them via radio with a description and location of the shoplifters (he may have even known their names if they were regular shoplifters). The cops would have caught up with them.
Think about it, one of the the shoplifters held the beer, whilst the other walk out with his hands free, he may have been concealing a weapon, but he/she was prepared to attack anyone who tackled them on exit.
If a security officer were to confront them he would be putting himself at risk from being attacked, possibly stabbed and had he tried to restrain either offenders he would have also been at risk of being charged with assault himself (believe it or not).
As for the assistant saying that security were no good, they know as much about security as your average person in the street.

jenniewb

The security guard was not doing his job: it is his job to at least approach them or at the very least to call the police and give a description, not to just let them walk out unaffected! I'd at least have expected him to look ruffled and to be noting down details, car reg. if there was one, this is what I've witnessed with this sort of thing before (termed a "snatch" when I used to work in a shop).

Its more likely the shop staff will take the flak and as they have one, the security guard. The store will have regular stock takes where losses due to theft will show up. The company will have an average and acceptable stock loss, stores that are underperforming will normally have action taken against them and normally this is financial cuts, wages, bonuses, and in some cases staff fired and new staff hired. But maybe contact the head office with your concerns anyway if your unhappy with how things are: I would!