// Morrisons wades into grocery price wars as recession begins to bite
// It is cutting prices by an average of 23% on 400 essential products,
Morrisons is set to slash the price of hundreds of products, making it the latest grocer to wade into the price war as the grocery sector feels the bite of recession.
Over the weekend Big 4 giant said it would cut prices by an average of 23 per cent on 400 essential products, including fruit and vegetables, meat, poultry, bread, breakfast cereal, rice, toilet rolls and cleaning products.
Morrisons said the price cuts were a response to the fact that the UK is “now in recession and family budgets are under pressure”.
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The supermarket giant added that the price cuts follows the investment it has made this year already, which has led to price cuts on 800 products so far.
A Morrisons spokesman said the latest price cuts would target items that made up children’s school lunch boxes as well as £the nation’s most often cooked meal” – spaghetti bolognese, with beef mince, ragu sauce and own-brand spaghetti all becoming cheaper.
Morrisons chief executive David Potts said: “It’s been a tough year for many families who find themselves stretched.
“To play our full part in feeding the nation, we’re cutting prices and holding them low to make our food more affordable for everyone.
“These are not short-term promotions; these are price cuts that are here to stay.”
Morrisons’ move counters Asda recent announcement in setting aside £100 million for a price campaign that will also see its Asda Price “pocket tap” revived.
Tesco and Sainsbury’s have also begun to cut prices to entice shoppers before they defect to German discounters Lidl and Aldi.
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