Cost of living hits traditional Christmas pick-me-up

The price of a festive afternoon treat has soared this year.

Inflation has hit both mince pies and coffee in a blow to those seeking a mid-afternoon Christmas treat.

Research compiled by Assosia for The Telegraph newspaper shows that the price of mince pies has soared by as much as 40% this Christmas because of a poor sultana harvest.

It found the price for some of Tesco’s premium mince pie packs – including its salted caramel crumble topped pies – has jumped by £1 to £3.50.

Across other supermarkets, including Tesco, Sainsbury’s Asda and Morrisons, mince pie prices have risen by an average of 26% over the past two years. In the past 12 months alone, the basic range of six own-brand mince pies has increased by 11p (8%) across those four supermarkets.

And it will be even more pricey for those who like to have a coffee with their mince pie.

That’s because coffee prices have also jumped, with the cost of coffee beans soaring to a record high, again because of a challenging harvest.

Earlier this week, the price of arabica beans, the world’s most popular coffee variety, hit £2.70 a pound, meaning the price has risen by more than 80% this year.

The cost of cheaper robusta beans - used to make instant coffee - has also almost doubled this year.

Rising prices have led coffee manufacturer Nestle to announce that it will increase prices and shrink pack sizes to offset higher bean pieces.

The price of its Nescafe Original instant coffee is already 15% more expensive than it was this time last year.

Italian coffee company Lavazza has also warned that the price of coffee would remain ‘very high’ and is unlikely to drop until the middle of 2025.

According to ONS figures, food inflation fell to 1.9% in October, down from 2.3% in September. Now that we're feeling the effects of several poor harvests, it remains to be seen if food inflation starts to creep up again. This could be a challenge for the Bank of England, which is still battling to keep inflation under control.

Why do poor harvests increase prices?

Poor harvests increase prices because they reduce the supply of food.

Poor harvests can be the result of several different things, such as:

• Climate change
• Wet weather
• Export bans
• Inadequate storage facilities
• Overexploitation of agriculture lands

Are poor harvests linked to inflation?

Poor harvests can contribute to inflation by reducing the amount of available food, which can lead to higher prices in the supermarket.