UK supermarkets face calls for ‘profiteering’ investigation as inflation soars

theguardian.com:

Britain’s biggest supermarkets are facing calls for the UK’s competition watchdog to investigate claims of profiteering amid the cost of living crisis, as industry figures show food price inflation soared to a record high in April.

With the rising cost of a weekly shop adding to pressure on households across the country, the Liberal Democrat leader, Ed Davey, called on the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to investigate whether any profiteering was taking place among supermarkets and food multinationals.

Government figures show food and drink prices rose by almost 20% in the year to March, the fastest annual rate since 1977. Analysis by the Lib Dems showed the cost of a typical weekly shop has now risen by nearly £12, or £604 in the space ofa year.

Davey criticised supermarkets for raking in millions of pounds in profits while food inflation has soared. Large grocers have reported a drop in profits in recent weeks, but experts have said more could be done to help shoppers struggling with rising prices.

“We need to bring soaring food prices back under control and offer relief to families. That means cracking down on profiteering by food multinationals and the big supermarkets so customers get a fair deal,” he said.

The UK’s biggest supermarkets have made billions of pounds in profits between them over the past year, drawing sharp criticism from union leaders who say supermarket bosses are gouging customers to benefit from “greedflation” – when firms exploit high inflation to create excessive profits.

The Lib Dems said the CMA should investigate reports that food producers and supermarkets could be unfairly using their market power to inflate their markups and raise prices even further. A similar investigation into petrol