UK food prices set to rise further as farmers face ‘hammering’, MPs told

Costs of inputs like fertiliser and animal feed have jumped by 30 per cent compounding Brexit labour shortages

Farmers have seen input costs jump by 30 per cent (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Britain's food production faces a "hammering" with the worst conditions for farmers "in living memory" likely to push up prices even more over the next year, farming chiefs have told MPs.

Soaring prices of animal feed and nitrogen fertiliser, as well as a shortage of labour linked to Brexit are all combining to drive up costs – which have jumped by around 30 per cent in a year.

The situation means that food prices in supermarkets, which are already up 15 per cent on last year, are now expected to continue to rise.