THE government must act to get supermarkets to stock essential budget items and make pricing clearer, consumer experts warned today as food inflation remains at its sixth highest level since 2008.

Grocery inflation dropped to 16.5 per cent for the four weeks to June 11, down from March’s record 17.5 per cent, according to analysts Kantar.

It is currently at its lowest level since last year but is still the sixth highest monthly figure in 15 years.

Kantar also found that of consumers’ top five financial worries, rising grocery prices is the only one that they are more concerned about now than at the start of this year.

Which? head of food policy Sue Davies warned that millions of households are still being “hammered” by last year’s high prices — including desperate families and people on low incomes who have been skipping meals for many months to make ends meet.

She said: “Now is the time to act.

“The government must work to get urgent commitments from supermarkets on stocking essential budget ranges in all their stores… as well as make pricing much clearer so shoppers can compare prices and find the best value products.”