Shopper sparks debate after sharing 'ridiculous' cost of regular household item in supermarket

A shopper has sparked another debate around the rising cost of food items after posting a picture to X.

It's the cry heard around the country, and regardless of how much we know it's not getting any better, it's never an easy pill to swallow.

The cost of living crisis strikes again, this time in the form of an every day food item that has become increasingly harder to afford.

One shopper doing their weekly round in Tesco shared a tweet on Wednesday (April 10) of a picture Tesco's olive oil shelf, and the ridiculous price tags that come with it.

The tweet read: "This is how Tesco went from £800m profit in one year to £2.3B… if you’re wondering."

The picture shows all different brands of olive oil, with the cheapest being £2.75 for a tiny bottle of Olivio (a vegetable oil blend), and the most expensive being £13.85 for the biggest version of the Filippo Berio.

I don't know about you, but I remember a time when oil sat firmly in single digits, and didn't make you want to ugly cry at the checkout.

People couldn't believe what they seeing and were more than happy to share their outrage in response to the post.

One fumed: "£13 for oil is wild," followed by a shocked emoji, which let's face it, is very appropriate.

Another chimed in: "Olive oil is expensive everywhere at the moment to be honest, it's ridiculous."

Someone else said what we are probably all thinking: "13 quid for a small bottle of virgin olive oil?? I'd rather buy a big bottle of vodka from Aldi for £11 like I did yesterday."

Hard to argue with that, isn't it?

Tesco has in fact been benefitting from an increased number of profits with their pre-tax profits hitting £2.3bn in the past year.

Tesco bosses have said this will help the price of groceries 'lessen substantially', however, supermarket boss Ken Murphy has explained the company is still conscious 'things were still difficult for many customers'.

With oil being £13, you can say that again.

Murphy went on to say that Tesco had 'worked hard' to slash those pesky rising prices and have, in fact, 'doubled down' on schemes like Aldi Price Match offer and Clubcard promotions to help offer customers better value.

Tesco responded to Tyla informing us that their 'own-brand Olive Oil starts at £3.30'.

The Evening Standard reported that extreme weather conditions in the Mediterranean have a lot to do with the increased price of olive oil in the UK, causing olive groves to dry up.

Countries in the Med like Greece and Spain have been hit the hardest and they also happen to be the biggest producers of olive oil.

Only time will tell if this increase in profits will see the price of every day goods go down some, giving shoppers wallets a much needed break.

Featured Image Credit: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images/Hesther Ng/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Topics: Shopping, Tesco, Money, Cost of Living, Twitter, Food and Drink

Saskia Calliste