One festive essential is the latest yuletide food to soar in price compared to last year following a spate of wet weather causing problems with the supply of key ingredients
Supermarket mince pies have soared in price by as much as 40%.
Data compiled by trade publication The Grocer found pre-promotional prices of the festive treat are up almost 9% on average. The publication looked at 40 mince pie products available across major supermarkets. It found 26 of these have gone up year-on-year and some by as much as 40%.
Three Tesco Finest products, All Butter Pastry Mini Mince Pies 9x31g, Frangipane Mince Pies 4x50g and Spiced Rum Mince Pies 4x63g, have shot up by 40% from £2.50 to £3.50. Iceland’s Luxury 6 Butter Mince Pies is up 20% from £2.50 to £3, while its 6 Mince Pies are up 16% from £1.25 to £1.45. Aldi’s Holly Lane 6 Deep Filled Mince Pies and 6 Iced Mince Pies are both up 15%, from £1.09 to £1.25. Meanwhile Asda’s The Bakery 6 Mince Pies are also up 15% from £1.09 to £1.25.
The price rises are thought to be down to problems with supply of key mince pie ingredients sultanas and butter. Heavy rains in the main sultana growing regions in Turkey resulted in a poor crop last year. Meanwhile adverse wet weather in the UK this year has led to a tightening supply of butter as well as price hikes – with many supermarket butters over 20% pricier month-on-month.
A Tesco spokesperson said: “All our mince pies are competitively priced against similar products available sold at other retailers.” An Iceland spokesperson said it was committed to maintaining competitive pricing on all its products. Aldi declined to comment, while Asda was contacted for a response.
Last week, The Mirror reported last week that the average price of a Christmas dinner will cost £49.33 for roughly six people this year – but this is 3% more expensive than in 2023, outpacing the rate of inflation which is currently 1.9%.
Carrots were among the worst affected, going up from 54p in 2023 to 69p this year – an almost 27% rise. Parsnips now cost 75p, a nearly 17% rise on last year’s price of 64p, while 2.5kg of Maris Piper potatoes are 12% more expensive and now are priced at £1.89 on average when they were £1.68 last year. Meanwhile turkeys are also pricier, for example the average 4.75kg bird is 7% costlier, going from £30.13 to £32.21.