The rising cost of cheapest items on supermarket shelves

Pasta and vegetable oil prices have soared by nearly two-thirds, while tea costs close to 50% more than it did a year ago.

The cost of vegetable oil has soared in the last year (Gareth Fuller/PA) (PA Archive)

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has said the cost of some of the cheapest food in supermarkets has risen by nearly two-thirds in the last year, heaping extra pressure on struggling households.

Prices have risen across the board, but the ONS has collected 1.5 million prices over the last year to track changes to the cheapest available items on a supermarket’s website.

It gives a snapshot of the extra costs faced by households who are shopping on a budget.

Price changes between September 2021 and September 2022

Vegetable oil: 65.2%Pasta: 59.9%Tea: 46%Chips: 38.7%Bread: 37.6%Biscuits: 34.4%Mixed frozen vegetables: 31.9%Milk: 29.4%Crisps: 23.7%Tomatoes: 19.3%Instant coffee: 18.8%Sausages: 18.3%Onions: 18%Apples: 17.2%Baked beans: 16.2%Potatoes: 13.2%Fish Fingers: 13.1%Tomato ketchup: 12.1%Breakfast cereal: 10.6%Cheese: 10.4%Chicken breast: 10.1%Ham: 9.9%Bananas: 7%Fruit squash: 6.7%Yoghurt: 6.6%Pizza: 3.2%Rice: -0.2%Granulated sugar: -0.3%Beef mince: -7.4%Fruit juice orange: -8.9%