Lidl and Aldi slash price of milk

Aldi and Lidl have followed rival supermarkets Sainsbury’s and Tesco in slashing the price of milk.

The budget retailers announced on Friday that they are cutting the price of their four-pint own brand bottles by 10p from £1.65 to £1.55.

The change follows a similar announcement by supermarket Sainsbury’s on Thursday, with Tesco being the first to cut its prices on Wednesday.

The German stores often compete with Britain’s most popular supermarkets on prices.

In the latest round of price cuts, a one pint bottle of own-brand milk will be 5p cheaper at 90p, while two pints will be reduced from £1.30 to £1.25.

The changes come at a time when the cost of groceries have skyrocketed reaching their highest level in decades.

The latest figures release by the ONS show that the price of food has increased by 18% in the year to February.

A spokeswoman for Lidl said that its latest price cut would not impact farmers.

The decision was quickly followed by Asda announcing its own price cut later on Friday.

The retailer said it had taken the “swift action” to support customers struggling with the cost of living.

But consumer group Which? said that supermarkets should be doing “a lot more to ensure healthy, nutritious food is more widely available”.

Head of food policy Sue Davies said: “Any price reduction is good news for consumers, but 5p off a pint of milk won’t make a huge difference when it comes to year-on-year food price inflation, which is almost 25% at some supermarkets, according to our research.

“This step shows that pressures are easing but supermarkets should be doing a lot more to ensure healthy, nutritious food is more widely available, especially in those areas most in need and to make sure pricing is clearer, more transparent and more consistent, so consumers can easily compare prices in-store and with other supermarkets.”

Asda’s chief commercial officer Kris Comerford said: “Our latest income tracker shows over 11 million families in the UK don’t have enough income to cover their weekly expenses, which is why we have invested to protect our customers throughout the cost of living crisis and have taken swift action to reduce the price of milk as commodity prices have eased.

“This is on top of the hundreds of prices lowered in our stores every week.”