Warning as supermarket prices

Supermarkets must cut costs if they want to prevent risking a customer boycott over soaring recession-era price hikes.

The warning came as figures released by the Consumers Association of Ireland show that, despite families struggling to cope with the downturn, major supermarkets are pushing prices higher than even boom-time rates.

According to the independent watchdog, 16 of Ireland’s 19 most popular grocery goods have seen price rises of between 5.5% and 38%, since Jun 2011.