€1,200 extra to buy food

Food price in ation went through the roof in March as pressure on shoppers’ pockets continues to grow.

According to research group Kantar, food price in ation here rose to 16.8% in the 12 weeks to March 19, the latest gures available. is marked an increase of 0.4% from the previous 12week period.

Total take-home grocery sales rose by 9.5% during this time.

In the four weeks to March 19, the value of Irish food sales also jumped by 13.3%, up from 10.2% the month before.

Shoppers are now spending an additional €119.6m yearon-year, according to Kantar. Supermarkets recorded the highest footfall since March 2020 in recent weeks as consumers celebrated St Patrick’s Day, Mother’s Day and Ireland’s Six Nations victory. However, Kantar attributed