The rising cost of Ramadan
Over the past two years, food prices have gone up rapidly. We look into how this will affect British Muslims during the holy month
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With Ramadan fast approaching, Muslim households across the UK have started stocking their cupboards in preparation for a month of suhoors and iftars.
For suhoor, the meal eaten before the morning prayer of fajr and the start of the fast, many people tend to eat simple breakfast foods, such as porridge or toast with eggs. In 2024, the longest fast in the UK is around 14 hours.
Iftar, eaten after the fast is broken, is a more indulgent meal. In South Asian households, the menu usually includes platters of rice, grilled meats, samosas and naan. People of Middle Eastern heritage often enjoy stews made of vegetables, meats and lentils, such as the Saudi Arabian thareed and Lebanese shorbat adas.
The iftar table is also laden with sweets, including Somali bur — fried doughnuts flavoured with cinnamon and cardamom — and kunafa, a sweet syrup-soaked pastry layered with stretchy cheese.
The Office for National Statistics reported that food price inflation fell slightly in January, from 8% in December 2023 to 7% in January. However, prices remain high, following a series of sharp increases over the past two years. Between January 2022 and January 2024, food and non-alcoholic beverages rose by approximately 25%.
According to a 2023 report on food poverty by The Trussell Trust, one in seven, or an estimated 11.3 million people across the UK experienced food insecurity in the year up to June 2022. Of these people, one in five (19%) were from an ethnic minority background.
We compared current prices of a variety of essential ingredients with how much they cost during the Ramadan of 2023, and the year before. The biggest increase since 2023 was in flour. Other ingredients, such as bread and lentils, dropped in price or stayed the same. All of the items we compared are still more expensive than they were in April 2022. See the full list below.
Chickpeas
Napolina chickpeas in water
April 2022: 86p
March 2023: £1.01
February 2024: £1.03
Increase since 2022: 20%
Increase since 2023: 2%
Chapatti flour
East End Gold Flour 5kg
April 2022: £6
March 2023: £7.65
February 2024: £9.43
Increase since 2022: 57%
Increase since 2023: 23%
Elephant Atta Gold 5kg
April 2022: £4.83
March 2023: £4.83
February 2024: £6.46
Increase since 2022: 34%
Increase since 2023: 34%
Elephant Atta wholemeal 10kg
April 2022: £6.83
March 2023: £8.50
February 2024: £9.90
Increase since 2022: 45%
Increase since 2023: 16%
Tinned tomatoes
KTC chopped tomatoes
April 2022: 44p
March 2023: 54p
February 2024: 58p
Increase since 2022: 32%
Increase since 2023: 7%
Coconut milk
KTC Coconut milk
April 2022: 89p
March 2023: 90p
February 2024: 90p
Increase since 2022: 1%
No change in 2023
Greek yoghurt
Supermarket own brand greek yoghurt (Tesco)
April 2022: 85p
March 2023: £1.05
February 2024: £1.10
Increase since 2022: 29%
Increase since 2023: 5%
Parathas
Shana paratha
April 2022: £1.30
March 2023: £1.87
February 2024: £1.71
Increase since 2022: 31.5%
Decrease since 2023: 9%
Rice
Laila basmati rice 10kg
April 2022: £12.13
March 2023: £16.87
February 2024: £15.40
Increase since 2022: 27%
Decrease since 2023: 9%
Tilda basmati rice 5kg
April 2022: £12.63
March 2023: £14.83
February 2024: £15.25
Increase since 2022: 21%
Increase since 2023: 3%
Tilda basmati rice 10kg
April 2022: £23.42
March 2023: £25.33
February 2024: £27.25
Increase since 2022: 16%
Increase since 2023: 8%
Filo pastry
Jus Rol Filo pastry
April 2022: £1.77
March 2023: £1.87
February 2024: £1.89
Increase since 2022: 7%
Increase since 2023: 1%
Vermicelli
KTC vermicelli
April 2022: 60p
March 2023: 70p
February 2024: 81p
Increase since 2022: 35%
Increase since 2023: 16%
Tahini
Bodrum tahini
April 2022: £2.50
March 2023: £2.65
February 2024: £2.65
Increase since 2022: 6%
No change since 2023
Ayran
Mis Ayran
April 2022: 39p
March 2023: 50p
February 2024: 55p
Increase since 2022: 41%
Increase since 2023: 10%
Ghee
KTC ghee
April 2022: £4.67
March 2023: £4.83
February 2024: £5.12
Increase since 2022: 10%
Increase since 2023: 6%
Ready meals
Humza chicken charcoal kebabs
April 2022: £2.75
March 2023: £3.25
February 2024: £3.25
Increase since 2022: 18%
No change in 2023
Shazans beef burgers
April 2022: £4.20
March 2023: £4.46
February 2024: £4.43
Increase since 2022: 5%
Decrease since 2023: 1%
Lentils
Natco red lentils
April 2022: £3.50
March 2023: £3.70
February 2024: £3.70
Increase since 2022: 6%
No change in 2023
Bread
The Clay Oven Bakery garlic and coriander naan
April 2022: £1.55
March 2023: £1.75
February 2024: £1.75
Increase since 2022: 13%
No change in 2023
All figures were compiled using data from www.trolley.co.uk.
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