Sainsbury’s chief executive Simon Roberts has asked the UK government to consider measures to shield the food industry from surging energy costs that he said stem from the escalation of hostilities involving Iran. Roberts made the appeal publicly after Sainsbury’s released its full-year financial results.
Roberts flagged the potential for higher energy bills to feed directly into grocery prices and said government intervention would be the most effective way to prevent food inflation from worsening. He noted that other sectors which consume large amounts of energy have already received state support and argued that the same consideration should be extended across the food chain - including farmers, growers, producers, processors, manufacturers and retailers.
He said: "The single biggest thing the government could do to help support keeping food prices down is to make sure that energy costs of the industry are not rising faster." Roberts added: "Now is the time for government to really look at what they can do ... Now is the time to look at what’s possible in the food (farming), manufacturing, processing and retailing sectors."
The comments come against a backdrop of a recent energy price surge in Britain that followed U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran which began at the end of February, a development Roberts linked to the higher bills facing the sector. UK finance minister Rachel Reeves has said her priority during the conflict is to keep costs down for consumers and businesses.
Official data show UK food inflation rose to 3.7% in March. Industry groups have warned of further steep increases: the Food and Drink Federation has said food prices could be up by almost 10% by December. Tesco said last week it did not recognize that projection.
Sainsbury’s, which holds a 15.6% share of the UK grocery market behind Tesco, emphasised that its strategy remains focused on limiting price rises for customers. Roberts framed the industry-wide appeal as timely, urging policymakers to examine targeted options that could blunt the impact of rising energy costs on food prices.
Summary
Simon Roberts, CEO of Sainsbury’s, urged government action to prevent higher energy costs - which he attributes to recent military actions involving Iran - from pushing grocery prices higher. He called for support to be extended across the food sector after Sainsbury’s published its full-year results, citing that other energy-intensive industries have already received assistance.