According to a survey by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), released on Wednesday, shop prices in August rose by 1.7 per cent from a year ago, up from a 1.5 per cent annual rise in July.
The surge in prices was mainly due to food inflation, which has gone up by 3.8 per cent, the highest noted since July 2009.
Russia's drought situation has led to a 60 per cent increase in wheat prices across the globe, in the months of July and August. This has indirectly increased costs of livestock feed leading to a 20-year-high in international meat prices.
Sugar prices are also at their highest in five months.
BRC director general Stephen Robertson has said that past rises in the cost of global commodities, such as wheat and sugar, are filtering through to food prices.
"We're nowhere near the return of the double-digit food inflation of two years ago. Despite its recent increase, wheat is over a third cheaper than its peak in 2008, while oil prices are virtually half of what they were back then," he added, stressing on the need to not overstate the situation.
