Last year it cost about 25p to produce a cucumber in Britain, but this has soared to around 70p. Meanwhile the Big Four supermarkets are selling whole cucumbers for 45p to compete with the discounters.
Aldi and Lidl together now have a 15.4 per cent share of the UK’s food retail market, according to survey data from Kantar, compared with only 5.5 per cent a decade ago, and the leading supermarkets are scrambling to retain.
Morrisons has promised an average 13 percent cut on more than 500 family favourites.
Boss David Potts said: “We know our customers are under real financial pressure at the moment and we want to play our part in helping them when it comes to the cost of grocery shopping. These price cuts will have a noticeable and long-term impact on our customers’ budgets, and demonstrate our commitment to offering them the best possible value.”
Asda has said it would lower prices on hundreds of essentials until the end of the year.
The chain said more than 100 family favourites, including fruit and vegetables would be “dropped and locked” by an average of 12 percent, putting extra pressure on the supply chain to make ends meet.
Tesco also got in on the act, vowing to continue its war on budget chain Aldi by keeping prices low for shoppers.
British growers have subsequently accused the big supermarkets of heaping pressure on struggling farmers with their price war moves.
Soaring energy costs have trebled the cost of production for arable growers, particularly those producing cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers and aubergines who rely on heated greenhouses to produce their crops.
Mintec has warned of potential supermarket shortages over the coming months due to the 'substantial pressure of rising costs' causing many vegetable producers to 'cease production'.