Inflation & Prices
Breakfast Index Reaches New High After UK Food Shortages
- Items needed for a fry-up cost more than £35 for first time
- Price of tomatoes jumped amid British vegetable supply crisis
The average cost of a traditional fry-up rose by more than 22% from a year earlier.
Photographer: Simon Dawson/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The price of a basket of English breakfast items soared past £35 ($43) as vegetable shortages in supermarkets fueled a surprise jump in UK inflation.
Tomato prices rose 6.4% in February compared with the previous month, the second-biggest riser in the latest Bloomberg Breakfast Index behind bread. A supply crisis caused grocers such as Tesco Plc and J Sainsbury Plc to restrict sales of certain produce to three per person last month, while pictures on social media showed empty shelves across the country.