From NI to tax cuts – what the chancellor of the exchequer could announce at his first fiscal event

Fixed costs in the supply chain play a bigger role in fruit and vegetables prices compared to those of other foods, meaning that UK consumers are paying 40% more than marginal costs, a new study has found.

Fruit and vegetables have particularly high fixed costs as they are perishable products which requires them to be restocked more frequently, driving the prices of these items higher.

According to researchers at the University of Warwick, higher prices lead to consumers buying on average 15% less fruit and vegetables than they would if they were sold at marginal cost.

The reports said that the 15% "under-consumption" of fruit and vegetables accounts for a third of the gap between the average amounts consumed and the recommended intake.

Researchers suggest subsidising fresh fruit and vegetables by as much as 25% could counteract the price distortion, reduce the cost of fruit, and increase consumer intake by as much as 15%.

In Britain, it's estimated that supermarkets sold around £10.4bn ($13.7bn) of fresh produce in 2017, with researchers estimating that funding a subsidy would cost the government £2.5bn per year.

Read more: UK supermarket prices rise at fastest pace since 2012 as inflation hits

Professor Thijs van Rens, one of the authors and leader of the Warwick Obesity Network, said: "The food retail market is very competitive, so if there weren’t any fixed costs you would expect food to be sold close to marginal cost. And the fact that they are not affects diets.

"A higher price of any product means that people buy less of it.

"There is something wrong with the market, which is that there’s a high fixed cost in the provision of fruits and vegetables. The effect of that is that the prices are too high, and consumption too low."

He warned that demand was low in areas where the poorest people live. "So this market failure not only makes us all unhealthier, but it increases health inequality as well," van Rens added.

Read more: Cost of living crisis: UK shop prices rise at highest rate since 2011

It comes as prices in Britain's shops rose at the fastest pace in March since September 2011, adding to the cost of living crisis consumers face.

A study from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) suggests that the war in Ukraine and volatility in commodity markets is fuelling inflation pressures.

This will "dampen" consumer confidence, the BRC said, warning that the full impact of mounting costs is yet to be seen.

Food inflation jumped to 3.3%, its highest rate since March 2013, while non-food inflation reached 1.5% in March, up from 1.3% in February and its top rate since February 2011.

A separate analysis showed that Britain's supermarket prices surged at their fastest rate in nearly a decade this month as household budgets come under more pressure and the cost of living crisis deepens.

Grocery price inflation hit 5.2% over the four weeks to 20 March, the highest since April 2012, according to data analytics firm Kantar.

Watch: How does inflation affect interest rates?

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during the forecast period. The key elements anticipated to propel the adoption of geospatial analytics market technology throughout the forecast period is the increasing geographic deployment of IoT sensors.New York, Sept. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Geospatial Analytics Market by Component, Solution, Service, Type, Technology, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Application, Vertical and Region - Global Forecast to 2027" - https://www.repo

It came as the euro area’s annual inflation rate came in as expected at 9.1% in August, up from 8.9% in July. This is more than three times the rate in August 2021.

Major players in the environmental testing equipment market are Agilent Technologies Inc, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc, Shimadzu Corporation, Waters Corporation, Bruker Corporation, PerkinElmer Inc, Merck KGaA, Teledyne Technologies Incorporated, INFICON, JEOL Ltd, SCIEX, Extech Instruments, Amphenol, and PathSensors, Inc.New York, Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Environmental Testing Equipment Global Market Report 2022" - https://www.repo

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OSLO (Reuters) -Malaysian telecoms firm Axiata Group and Norway's Telenor ASA have been given clearance from the Securities Commission Malaysia for the proposed merger of their local units, Telenor said on Thursday. Facing stiff competition in the competitive Malaysian market, Axiata and Telenor announced last year the planned tie-up between Celcom Axiata and DiGi.Com, forming a new market leader called Celcom Digi. Two sources with knowledge of the deal, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told Reuters last year that Celcom Digi would have an enterprise value of $15 billion.

Clinician uses ultrasound in pregnancy assessment Clinician uses Philips ultrasound Philips out-of-hospital fetal ultrasound September 15, 2022 Philips FetView will offer real-time, off cart remote patient management with access to data from any ultrasound system, anytime and anywhere, to enhance diagnostic confidence for physicians and provide peace of mind for expectant mothers Amsterdam, the Netherlands and London, United Kingdom – Royal Philips (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHIA), a global leader in heal

Falls against the dollar are prompted partly by concern about Liz Truss’s economic and energy policies

The public queue to see the Queen lying in state spiked by over 2,220% in the 24 hours from Thursday to Friday, Google Trends said.

Summary Global Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) capacity is poised to see considerable growth over the next five years, potentially increasing from 10. 59 mtpa in 2021 to 10.New York, Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Expandable Polystyrene (EPS) Industry Installed Capacity and Capital Expenditure (CapEx) Forecast by Region and Countries including details of All Active Plants, Planned and Announced Projects, 2022-2026" - https://www.reportlinker

OSLO (Reuters) -Softbank said on Friday it had agreed to sell its 15% stake in Norwegian e-learning group Kahoot to U.S. private equity group General Atlantic FT BV. Kahoot's share price surged 28% in early trade. General Atlantic in a separate statement confirmed the deal to buy 73.5 million Kahoot shares, but did not disclose the transaction price.

Campaigners hope to see a radical shift under the former renewables boss but it is likely to be more continuation than revolution

With large numbers expected for funeral, there will be ‘welfare trains’ on platforms for vulnerable people

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's new finance minister, Kwasi Kwarteng, will deliver an emergency mini-budget on Sept. 23 to give more details about support to help ease the country's cost-of-living crisis, government sources said on Thursday. Prime Minister Liz Truss took office last week after winning the contest to lead the governing Conservative Party with a promise to immediately cut taxes and redouble efforts to promote economic growth. Hours before Queen Elizabeth's death last week, Truss outlined a plan to cap consumer energy bills for two years and funnel billions into propping up power companies.

Some of the chancellor’s other proposals may represent a step back to the light-touch era that led to 2008-09 crash

Heat Shrink Packaging Market – Scope of Report This report on the global heat shrink packaging market studies the past as well as the current growth trends and opportunities to gain valuable insights of the indicators of the market during the forecast period from 2022 to 2031.New York, Sept. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Heat Shrink Packaging Market - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2022-2032" - https://www

Global Market for Automated and Rapid Microbiological Tests Global Market for Automated and Rapid Microbiological Tests Dublin, Sept. 15, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Automated and Rapid Microbiological Tests - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.Global Automated and Rapid Microbiological Tests Market to Reach $7.6 Billion by 2026 Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Automated and Rapid Microbiological Tests estimated at US

Ford unveiled Wednesday its seventh-generation Mustang in a brash and boisterous launch event in downtown Detroit that pointed to the staying power of gasoline-powered vehicles.

Most people who grew up with a smartphone will remember the phenomenon that was Temple Run. The endless running game was a must-have for avid and casual gamers alike. If you were one of them, then there’s good news coming up. Play-to-earn (P2E) platform, Open League, will soon be launching a new NFT game that’ll be a trip down nostalgia lane for those of us who grew up playing Temple Run.Triadista, Bulgaria, Sept. 16, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- MoonRacers brings all the features you love about Tem

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