Four-pint carton of milk could ‘cost £4.90 by 2038 if food prices keep rising’

Food prices will be a fair bit more ‘costly’ by 2038 if current price trends continue, experts found (Picture: Getty)

Brits could soon be forking out £4.90 for a four-pint carton of milk or £5.15 for cheese if food prices continue to soar.

Food and drink inflation in Britain is among the highest in the West, being at an eye-watering 19.1%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said today.

In only a few weeks, the average grocery bill will be larger than a typical energy bill, experts have warned.

But as grocery receipts get shorter as one in two Brits eats less food, the ONS found, analysts say that the cost of food has actually been rising for years.

Using ONS data, the loan agency Moneyboat compared the prices of food items today to what they were in 2008 to work out how much they would cost in 2038.

Some fish, dairy products and fresh produce have nearly doubled in price over the last 15 years, according to findings from Moneyboat released on Monday.

For months, supermarket aisles have been filled with raised eyebrows and tuts as people reach out for food staples (Picture: AFP)

Dairy products such as milk and cheese are among the worst offenders for price juGetty Images)

Salmon, one of the most popular fish in the world, costs 98.64% more than it did in 2008.

So if this increase continued until 2038, someone would end up paying £37.68 per kg of salmon, or £9.79 for the average packet size of two fillets.

Tailing salmon was the cost of white fish – think cod, haddock and plaice – which are up by 93.46%.

In 15 years, a standard 260g pack of two fillets would set a Brit back £9.82, which is about £37.76 per kg.

There’s been sticker shock over the years for other cupboard and fridge staples like sausages (90.49%), butter (85.83%) and tomatoes (85.29%).

At a supermarket checkout in the year 2038, this would translate to £12.59 for a kg of sausages, £4.39 for a 200g stick of butter and £5.84 for a kg of tomatoes (if there are any on the shelves).

The price of a pint of milk has also curdled over time. At the start of 2008, a pint cost 39p but has since shot up to just shy of 70p, according to the ONS.

By 2038, someone looking for a splash of milk in their tea would be expected to pay 75% more at £1.23 per pint, or £4.90 for a typical four-pint carton.

Coffee drinkers wouldn’t be exempt from the price crunch, Moneyboat found. A typical tub of coffee for £3.30 would be priced in 2038 at £5.61, given that it’s soared by 70.1%.

Cheese, meanwhile, has seen prices skyrocket by 39.43%, meaning a standard block could cost £5.15 by 2038.

Consumer prices rose 8.7% in April from a year earlier, the ONS said today. (This is the first time it hasn’t been in the double digits since last summer).

But inflation has burrowed deep into Britain. Core inflation – which doesn’t count food or energy costs – rose in April to 6.8%, the highest in 31 years.

Daniel Saunders at Moneyboat said his team were keen to see whether food items could become any more ‘costly’ than they are now amid the cost-of-living crisis.

‘The cost of living is affecting us all in different ways right now,’ Daniel said, ‘but one way we’re all feeling that penny-pinch is in the weekly shop with the cost of food rising so sharply in recent months.’

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Milk has shot up in price by 75% in the last 15 years.