Groceries skyrocketing: Cork retailer says support needed to 'ride the storm' of inflation 

AS new research shows the cost of groceries climbing rapidly, the president of the Cork Business Association said retailers and businesses across all sectors in Cork are at ‘battle stations’ and in need of Government support to ‘ride the storm’ of the current energy crisis and other challenges.

The latest market share data by Kantar shows that grocery price inflation is at the highest level in more than 14 years.

Kevin Herlihy of the Herlihy Centra Group warned that rising energy bills and other climbing expenses will lead to higher costs for both traders and consumers.

The research found the cost of groceries is up by 11% when compared to the same 12-week period last year.

In the four weeks up to September 4, the price of bread, ham, cheese, yoghurt, cereal, and milk rose by 19.5%, making a basket of these staples €2 more expensive.

Mr Herlihy said retailers are seeing constant price increases.

“The prices of dairy products and the meat commodities have increased by anything up to 40%,” he said.

“We are getting hit with price increases left, right, and centre. It is across the board, and we are seeing it on a daily basis.”

As in other industries, the rise in energy costs is a major concern for retailers.

“WE ... were getting 13 cent per kilowatt hour (kWh),” Mr Herlihy said.

'Nuts' energy increases 

“The figure I was quoted this morning was 49 cent per kWh, which is nuts.

“We haven’t had a huge amount of increases yet but they are certainly coming down the tracks.

“Costs are going to get bigger for shopkeepers and for consumers.”

Mr Herlihy said meetings have taken place with Government representatives to highlight the issues being faced.

“Representatives from Nursing Home Ireland, Irish Hotel Federation, the VFI and the Restaurants Association of Ireland met with Minister Michael McGrath on Monday, and we met with Minister [Simon] Coveney last week to express our concerns,” he said.

“There is fear and concern across all the business owners. We showed the ministers our numbers and they are very acutely aware of it.

“We hope across all sectors of business there will be Government supports in the budget to try and ride the storm. We are looking ourselves at saving energy.

“I was looking at putting Perspex doors on my fridges to try and reduce the energy costs. I am looking at possibly reducing the opening hours as are a lot of the publicans and restaurants who are talking about closing earlier in the week. I am looking at everything. It is real battle stations here.”

Impact unavoidable

Commenting on the Kantar findings, senior analyst Emer Healy said: “As food and drink prices continue to climb alongside increasing pressure on other household bills, the impact is unavoidable for many Irish consumers.

“The average annual grocery bill could go from €6,985 to €7,753 — that’s an additional €768 a year that Irish consumers will have to spend if they do not make any changes to what they currently buy or where they shop,” she added.