Brexit has added 6% to Britons' food bills, new study finds

Brexit boosted Britons' mean nutrient bills by £210 ($254) implicit 2 years, according to a caller survey outlining the economical interaction of non-tariff barriers connected user prices.

Household nutrient bills roseate 6% successful the 2 years to the extremity of 2021, 2 years connected from the U.K.'s ceremonial departure from the European Union, probe from the London School of Economics' Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) found.

Low-income households person been hardest deed by the uptick successful costs, with Brexit--induced terms rises adding 1.1% to their full outgo of surviving — much than the 0.7% summation felt by the wealthiest decile of households.

In all, U.K. consumers paid £5.8 cardinal ($7 billion) successful further market costs implicit the 2 years, the survey found.

The British authorities did not respond to a CNBC petition for remark connected the findings.

Britain voted to permission the EU successful June 2016, but respective years of fraught negotiations ensued earlier it officially near the national successful January 2020, and exited the azygous marketplace and customs national successful January 2021.

While commercialized betwixt the U.K. and the EU remains tariff-free nether the rules of the agreement, extended customs checks, rules of root requirements and sanitary measures for commercialized successful animals and plants were added, expanding friction for importers and exporters.

"In leaving the EU, the U.K. swapped a heavy commercialized narration with fewer impediments to commercialized for 1 wherever a wide scope of checks, forms and steps are required earlier goods tin transverse the border," Richard Davies, a prof astatine Bristol University and co-author of the study, said.

The emergence successful user prices was driven by products with precocious non-tariff barriers, portion determination was nary important emergence successful those with debased non-tariff barriers. That suggested that EU exporters and U.K. importers faced higher costs owed to the caller barriers, 50% to 88% of which they passed connected to consumers, the study found.

"Firms faced higher costs and passed astir of these connected to consumers. Over the 2 years to the extremity of 2021, Brexit accrued nutrient prices by astir six per cent overall," Davies added.

The study besides recovered that portion home U.K. nutrient producers person benefited from little competition, their gains were outstripped by user losses to the tune of implicit £1 billion. Meanwhile, the gains did not make immoderate gross for the government.

The probe predates a surge successful ostentation this twelvemonth pursuing Russia's penetration of Ukraine and wider proviso concatenation disruptions. However, the probe recovered that the emergence successful non-tariff barriers was "one factor" successful the surge successful prices seen this year.

U.K. yearly terms rises deed a 41-year-high of 11.1% successful October, portion nutrient ostentation reached 12.4% successful November.

British consumers tin present expect to wage £682 much for their nutrient measure this year, according to caller probe from marketplace probe steadfast Kantar.

Euro portion inflation, meanwhile, eased somewhat successful November to 10%.

The probe comes arsenic Britain's determination to permission the EU has travel nether renewed focus arsenic the state braces for its longest recession connected grounds and a worsening cost-of-living crisis.

The OECD said past week that the U.K. is lagging substantially behind different developed economies, performing 2nd lone to Russia among the world's large economies.

Britain is the lone G-7 system — which includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.S. and U.K. — yet to instrumentality to a pre-pandemic maturation rate.