The latest edition of the CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index revealed that inflation in foodservice hit 9% in May 2017, the highest point in nearly nine years.
Having increased from 5.8% since April, the figure marks the sharpest inflation in foodservice prices since August 2008, with CGA reporting that for the third month in a row, foodservice prices have been higher year-on-year across all ten sub-categories measured by the index.
An increase in the farm gate price of milk, low stocks, and a rise in global demand have also led to a 9.9% year-on-year inflation in dairy products. Additionally, with political uncertainty leading to the fall in the value of the Sterling, inflation in the fruit category was even higher at nearly 13%.
CGA’s report concludes that even though there are signs that inflation in some food categories may start to ease, the widening gap between the rates of inflation emphasises the need for foodservice businesses to seek expert independent help with procurement and pricing strategies.
Christopher Clare, head of consulting & insight at Prestige Purchasing, said: “There are few places to hide from the increased costs we are seeing flow through to operators – we would always recommend though, that operators test the competitiveness of their pricing in the marketplace and fully understand the justification for any increases.”
The CGA Prestige Foodservice Price Index is jointly produced by Prestige Purchasing and CGA Strategy, using data drawn from over 50% of the foodservice market and around 7.8m transactions per month.
