SuperValu latest retailer to cut price of bread

Price of supermarket’s own-brand bread to fall from 99 cent to 89 cent on Thursday

SuperValu's price cuts follow similar reductions by Tesco and Aldi. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times
SuperValu's price cuts follow similar reductions by Tesco and Aldi. Photograph: Eric Luke/The Irish Times

SuperValu is the latest retailer to cut the price of its own-band bread, after Tesco and Aldi reduced the cost of the staple on Wednesday.

From Thursday, the retail price of SuperValu’s 800g Daily Basics own-brand bread will be reduced from 99 cent to 89 cent for a white pan, and €1.09 to 99 cent for a brown pan.

Yesterday, Tesco announced its 800g white sliced pan, which currently costs 99 cent, will be priced at 89 cent from Thursday with corresponding reductions applied to other own-brand bread products.

“It’s been an incredibly tough year for many of our customers, and we have been determined to try and alleviate that pressure,” said Tesco Ireland chief executive Natasha Adams.

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Meanwhile, Aldi also confirmed it would be reducing the prices of its own-brand bread products from Thursday, with its sliced pans cut by up to 10 cent.

“Where input costs improve, for us and our suppliers, we will respond,” said Niall O’Connor, group managing director of Aldi Ireland.

The bread reductions follow recent butter and milk price cuts by supermarkets.

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Earlier this week, Minister for State at the Department of Enterprise Neale Richmond called a meeting of the Retail Forum which is made up of retailers, representative groups, academics and civil servants, in order to establish why the price of more staples have not fallen.

The meeting on Wednesday lasted around 90 minutes, and resulted in no ultimatums or firm commitments on price reductions.

Following the Retail Forum meeting Retail Ireland director Arnold Dillon said the sector “fully appreciates the concerns of customers at the high levels of food inflation”, and said members of the umbrella group were “actively working to minimise the impact on consumers of massive EU-wide commodity price increases and this will continue”.

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers

Shauna Bowers is Health Correspondent of The Irish Times