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Britain's Rising Food Inflation Is Caused By Brexit - But Then It's A Good Thing Too

This article is more than 6 years old.

The UK's inflation numbers are out and we see that inflation is up there at 2.3%. This is driven in part by food price inflation--and obvious effect of Brexit in a country which imports 40% of the food consumed. We could of course claim that this is appalling, think of the starving kiddies. But if we look at the wider issues here we should of course insist that this will be the salvation of us all. For is not obesity our largest public health problem? And are we not told that taxes must be applied to foods so that we all eat less of it and thus slow down that date when we'll all explode from being fatty lardbuckets?

In March food inflation really took off, which suggests the supermarkets are now starting to pass rising import costs onto consumers.

Crisps and margarine saw particularly steep price rises, not good news for fans of the crisp sandwich.

Given the cries for more taxes upon sugar and unhealthy foods this is, as I say, a good thing, no?

Inflation held steady at 2.3 per cent in March, above the Bank of England target and defying expectations of a fall.
Economists had expected a dip in the rate at which prices were increasing but official data from the Office for National Statistics showed the same figure for March as it recorded in February.

Inflation was driven by rising prices in food, alcohol and tobacco, plus increases in clothing and footwear.

We are equally told that we should all be consuming less booze and tabs and thus their rising in price is good for us all again, is it not?

Brexit latest: Food inflation hits highest rate in three years in March
The figures confirm that a long period of food price deflation, helped by a supermarket price war, is over thanks to the slump in the pound since last Summer's Brexit vote

And that is pretty much it. Our decision to leave the European Union has led to a decline in the value of the pound. Given that we do import a substantial, but less than majority, amount of the food we consume that makes the price go up. Of course, once we do finally free ourselves from the constraints of the EU and the ludicrous Common Agricultural Policy they will come down again but this short interregnum is going to see rising costs.

But then as the entire political conversation currently insists, food is too cheap and it must become more expensive so that we consume less of it. Brexit, the gift that keeps on giving, eh?