throughout the european union, consumer food prices were on average nearly 17 percent higher in april than a year earlier, a slight slowdown from the previous month, whichsetthe fastest pace of growth in over two and a half decades. the situation is worse in britain than in its western european neighbors: food and nonalcoholic drink prices were 19 percent higher, the quickest pace of annual food inflation in more than 45 years. by comparison, the annual rate of u.s. food inflation was 7.7 percent.

behind the sticker price for a loaf of bread includes the costs for not only key ingredients but also processing, packaging, transport, wages, storage and companymarkups.a united nations index of global food commodity prices, such as wheat, meat and vegetable oil, peaked in march 2022, immediately after russia’s invasion of ukraine, which is one of the largest grain producers. the war disrupted grain and oilproduction in the region andhad global impact, too,worsening food crisesin parts of east africa and the

middle east.

aside from commodity prices, europe has experienced particularlyharshincreases in costs along the food supply chain. energy prices soared because the war forced europe to rapidly replace russian gas with new supplies,pushing upthe costs of food production, transport and storage.though wholesale energy prices have fallen back down recently, retailers warn there’s a long lag — perhaps up to a year — before consumers will see the benefits of that because energy contracts were made months before, most likely reflecting those higher prices.