British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has abandoned plans to ask supermarkets to impose a voluntary price cap on basic goods after a backlash from retailers, the Telegraph has reported.
Last month, a Telegraph report on government plans to restrict food prices drew a sharp reaction from the industry representative, the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which argued such measures would not bring about any significant changes.
"The government has never been considering imposing price caps. We continue to engage with supermarkets about the best way to support consumers," a British government spokesperson said.
'No Price Intervention'
British ministers are pursuing other measures to deal with sky-rocketing food inflation, and officials had reassured retailers there would be no intervention in prices, the Telegraph said, citing sources.
Britain's competition regulator told supermarkets in late May it was looking at their earnings to identify which supply chains it needed to examine more closely as part of attempts to reduce food price inflation.
Asda Price Freeze
Asda, Britain's third largest supermarket group, this week froze prices of over 500 products until the end of August, adding to signs that a surge in food inflation is set to abate and even reverse in the coming months.
“We know that household budgets are tight at the moment, so we want to be able to offer the best value and give customers the confidence they can shop the products they love throughout summer," Kris Comerford, Asda’s chief commercial officer, commented earlier this week.
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