'Six eggs used to be £1' - why everyday essentials cost so much more now

Food inflation has slowed, but everyday essentials such as eggs, milk and bread remain much more expensive than they were before the cost-of-living crisis.

Shoppers across Cheshire are still paying much more for everyday essentials such as eggs, milk and bread, even though the headline rate of inflation has fallen.

The issue is simple but frustrating for households: lower inflation does not mean prices are going back to where they were. It only means prices are rising more slowly than before.

That is why a basket of basics can still feel painfully expensive compared with a few years ago.

BBC reporting highlighted the example of supermarket own-brand free-range eggs. In 2022, an average box of six cost around £1. Today, the same type of box costs about £1.80. Other everyday staples have also become more expensive, with supermarket price tracking showing rises in milk and basic bread over the same period.

For families, pensioners and workers across Cheshire, these increases matter because they affect the items people buy every week.

Eggs, milk and bread are not luxury purchases. They are the basics used for breakfasts, packed lunches, children’s meals, quick dinners and low-cost cooking. When those prices rise, households notice immediately.

The latest Office for National Statistics figures show that UK CPI inflation stood at 2.8% in April 2026, down from 3.3% in March. Food and non-alcoholic drink prices were 3.0% higher than a year earlier, also down from 3.7% in March.

But the longer-term picture is more severe. The House of Commons Library says food and non-alcoholic drink prices rose by 38.6% between November 2020 and November 2025. Most of that increase came during the sharp inflation surge from late 2021 to mid-2023.

That explains why many shoppers feel little relief. Even if food inflation is now much lower than its peak, prices are still sitting on top of several years of increases.

A loaf of bread that went up during the inflation surge does not automatically fall back just because inflation has eased. The same applies to eggs, milk, cheese, butter, meat, cereals and many other staples.

The pressure comes from several directions.

Egg prices have been affected by higher feed costs, energy bills, packaging, transport and disease pressures in the poultry sector, including outbreaks of avian flu in recent years. When farmers face higher costs to produce eggs, those costs eventually feed through the supply chain.

Milk prices have also been hit by farm costs, energy, processing, refrigeration, wages and transport. Even when farmgate milk prices ease, the price paid by shoppers may not fall quickly because supermarkets and processors still have other costs to absorb.

Bread has been affected by wheat prices, energy, labour, packaging and distribution. Bakeries and food manufacturers use large amounts of energy, so higher gas, electricity and fuel prices can push up the cost of production even when raw ingredient prices stabilise.

The latest producer price figures show that costs for UK manufacturers are still under pressure. ONS data shows producer input prices rose by 7.7% in the year to April 2026, while factory gate prices rose by 4.0%. Crude oil and refined petroleum products were major contributors to the increase.

That matters because groceries do not arrive on shelves by magic. Food has to be grown, processed, packaged, stored, chilled, transported and sold. Each stage has costs attached, and many of those costs remain higher than they were before the cost-of-living crisis.

Supermarkets also compete heavily on basic items, but they cannot control every part of the supply chain. Retailers may absorb some increases on popular products to keep customers coming through the doors, but sustained cost pressure eventually appears somewhere in the system.

For Cheshire households, the impact is practical. A few extra pence or pounds on individual items may not sound dramatic, but the effect builds across a full weekly shop.

A family buying eggs, bread, milk, cereal, butter, cheese, meat, fruit and lunchbox items every week may be spending far more than they did in 2020 or 2022, even without buying anything extravagant.

That is why many people feel poorer even when official inflation figures suggest the worst has passed.

The Food Foundation’s April 2026 tracker also shows the pressure on basic shopping baskets. It estimated that its weekly basket for a woman cost £52.98 and its basket for a man cost £59.38, with increases of 29.2% and 36.4% respectively since April 2022.

The result is a change in shopping behaviour. More households are comparing prices between supermarkets, switching to own-brand products, using loyalty prices, buying fewer premium items and planning meals more carefully.

Some shoppers are also moving between discount supermarkets, local shops and larger stores depending on which items are cheapest that week.

For local businesses, the situation is also difficult. Independent cafés, bakeries, farm shops and food producers in Cheshire face the same pressures as households, but on a larger scale. Higher ingredient costs, wages, rents, energy bills and supplier prices can squeeze margins quickly.

That can leave businesses with an uncomfortable choice: raise prices and risk losing customers, or absorb costs and reduce profit.

There is also a farming angle. Cheshire has a strong agricultural base, including dairy and poultry-linked supply chains. Farmers often face rising costs before shoppers see price changes in supermarkets. Feed, fuel, fertiliser, veterinary care, labour and borrowing costs all affect what it costs to produce food.

The public debate often focuses on the supermarket shelf price, but the real story is the whole chain from farm to checkout.

The key point for readers is that inflation slowing does not mean the cost-of-living crisis has disappeared. It means the pace of price rises has eased.

For households already stretched by mortgage costs, rent, council tax, energy bills, insurance and transport, food prices remain one of the most visible reminders that everyday life has become more expensive.

That is why the price of six eggs still matters.

It is not just about eggs. It is about the way basic essentials have moved from being predictable low-cost items to products many families now check carefully before putting in the trolley.

Until wages, benefits and household budgets catch up with the price level created by the last few years, many Cheshire shoppers will continue to feel that the weekly shop is more expensive than the official inflation rate suggests.

Open article on Cheshire Today