Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to monitor variations in the availability of individual food items during the covid-19 outbreak; and if he will make a statement.

The UK food sector has adapted quickly to unprecedented challenges during the Covid-19 outbreak to ensure people have the food and products they need. Defra has been engaged in constant dialogue with food retailers during this time, who are providing regular information on the availability of food in stores. Retailers are working hard to mitigate any disruption to their supply chain that could impact on their costs, to keep customer prices down as far as possible. We are confident about the resilience of the UK food supply chain.

Defra continues to monitor food prices through regular ONS reporting. According to the Consumer Price Index including housing costs (CPIH), between March and April, food products that have seen the largest price increase are oils and fats by 4.5%, fish by 2.6% and vegetables by 1.6%. We are also monitoring ONS online prices experimental data which reported that the prices of a set of high-demand food products increased by 1.1% between March and May. This data represents experimental statistics that provide an early indication of prices of a limited set of products, and cannot be directly compared to official national statistics.

It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices or to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by retailers. However, we continue to monitor prices closely and to work with industry to promote transparency for consumers.