Brexit has reportedly supplied an additional close to six billion pounds worth of UK food bills within the recent two years that passed, until the end of 2021. This action has resulted in a detrimental impact being felt by the poorest families most, according to research.
The cost of food that has been imported from the European Union increased due to an additional amount of red tape, in turn, supplying an extra 210 pounds worth of average household food bills within 2020 and 2021, as unyielded by the results of the study conducted by London School of Economics researchers.
As people from low-income households spend a larger portion of their income in buying food, the detrimental effects Brexit impose on this situation these people are in becomes sparingly disproportionate. People that come from low-income households attest to such a situation they have experienced.
The yielded research data comes about a day after information from the British Retail Consortium trade body has indicated that food price inflation in the United Kingdom reached an all-time high of 12.4 % in November. This record high food price inflation occurs as people have seen the prices of basic staples like eggs, dairy items, and coffee increase.
Researchers from the Center for Economic Performance at the LSE have studied food products’ consumer prices in the United Kingdom. The results of their studies have yielded the identification of the transfer of the expenses of Brexit red tape to members of households. According to their reports, they find that leaving the membership of the European Union has augmented the prices of foods by 3 percent per year. This situation has led to the increase of 6 percent within a span of two years-time. The said report has been known to be the non-tariff barriers and consumer prices, as per evidence that Brexit produced.
The associated calculations were translated into the 5.84 billion pounds expenses in the food market itself. This monetary value is equivalent to 210 pounds worth of food items per individual household. CEP has discovered that the Brexit-induced price increase has led to the consequential augmentation of the general living expenses for households that are of the poorest in UK society. These households comprise of the 1.1 percent to 52 percent over the 0.7 % increase experienced in the top 10 percent of British households.
In 2015, the year prior to the referendum being enforced, 77 percent of imported food items were originally native of the European Union. After the December 2019 election has passed, researchers have discovered a sudden increase in the food prices from the European Union as businesses that are dependent upon on products and ingredients suddenly started to pass on the chances of being of service to consumers. These services are related to the expenses integrated with the customs expenses, and administration staff and other Brexit staffing expenses, as per detailed in the report.
Regulatory expenses have been varied, based on the nature and kinds of the products. Fresh red meats have incurred the label of having an increased “non-tariff barrier” expenses. Such a situation arises out of the mandated documents. However, vegetables with the likes of onions, carrots, and broccoli have yielded close to zero value of NTB expense.
Researchers have discovered increase in prices of product items with a boosted NTB worth of values. These value units have a few substantial product costs in the low or zero value NTB types. According to the CEP, the EU single market was a deep trading bloc that cut tariff expenses. The EU single market, though, regulate differences in standards imposed on food items, thus, resulting in conflict-free trade that ensues among member state countries, which include the United Kingdom before Brexit.
