Premier feels pinch as food prices on the rise
PREMIER FOODS, owner of Teesside’s vegetarian Quorn-making facility, is the latest victim of rising commodity prices this week.
Shares tumbled to a fresh low as investors baled out, dropping its market value from £2.7bn last June to just £740m. The company’s full year results are expected on Tuesday.
Analysts criticised the company’s low pricing policy, which they said failed to take into account spiralling wheat prices.
According to the Grocer magazine, during the two years to January 2008, the price of a loaf of branded white bread rose 27p to £1.10,
Six free range eggs now cost 38p more at £1.39, while two litres of semi-skimmed milk will set consumers back by an extra 23p. All are affected by the increased cost of grain.
The Grocer assesses price trends via its monthly “shopping basket”, the value of which has risen 8% since January 2006 and 4% in the last 12 months - far in excess of the Government’s official inflation figures.
