Twenty-three business groups have written to the Scottish government urging it to drop its plans to impose a legal price ceiling on essential food items such as bread, milk, and eggs.

In a joint letter, representatives from groups including the Scottish Retail Consortium, DairyUK, and British Poultry Council urged first minister John Swinney to withdraw plans to impose a ‘Food Price Cap’.

The SNP ran on a pledge to make groceries more affordable in the 2026 Scottish parliament elections, promising to “establish statutory price ceilings on a basket of 20 to 50 essential food items at large supermarkets”.

In the joint letter, leaders at business representative groups said food prices were rising because of global pressures and that the SNP’s measures would increase household costs rather than decrease them.

“A statutory cap would not address the root causes of elevated food prices: rising production, refrigeration, and distribution costs,” the letter stated.

“Supply chain shocks after Covid and conflicts in Ukraine and Iran have pushed up fertiliser, fuel, and energy costs. Taxes on employment and packaging have – as the Bank of England has pointed out – added further pressure, with costs cascading through farming, food manufacturing, refrigeration and distribution.”

In May, the BRC warned businesses that retailers cannot indefinitely shield consumers from rising costs.

BRC data released on 1 September found that British food price inflation reached 2.8 per cent in August, up from 2.2 per cent in July.

"The impact of higher energy, input and ​commodity costs is beginning to filter through into prices, particularly for ambient foods which are typically imported and processed," BRC ​Chief Executive Helen Dickinson said.

"In non-food, electrical prices ​rose amid the ongoing AI boom, which is forcing up the ‌price ⁠of memory chips and storage," she added.

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