Blow for shoppers as fruit & veg prices to SOAR after Budget tax raid – with two supermarkets issuing stark warning
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FRUIT and veg prices are set to soar following the Budget tax raid - in a huge blow for shoppers. Two supermarkets, Sainsbury's and Tesco, have been forced to issue statements acknowledging the predicted hike. At her first Budget in October, Rachel Reeves introduced tax rises amounting to £40 billion - including raising the rate of employer National Insurance contributions.
![[Rachel Reeves giving a speech at a podium.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/britains-chancellor-exchequer-rachel-reeves-949220552.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
This, alongside increasing minimum wage, could raise the cost of growing fruit and vegetables by 10 to 12 per cent, the British Growers Association (BGA) has warned. Suppliers will be unlikely to be able to absorb the increase themselves, due to the new National Insurance changes.
![[Produce section in a grocery store.]](https://www.thesun.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/variety-vegetables-shelves-grocery-store-962850119.jpg?strip=all&w=960)
And the same is true of supermarkets - who will likely be forced pass on at least some of the burden to their customers, it is believed. Both suppliers and supermarkets have already been hit by rising energy prices and increased fertiliser bills over a period of years.
Sainsbury's, which previously warned that the Budget would cost them an extra £140 million, has admitted it is feeling the pinch. CEO Simon Roberts said on Friday that the chain would need to work with its suppliers to minimise the impact on customers.
He told The Grocer: "Suppliers have got costs coming at them as well, of course, given all of the changes in National Insurance coming. "We’ll be working really closely to make sure that between us, we find the best answers we can and we continue to give customers the best value that we possibly can.".
