Brexit added £210 to household food bills across the 24 months to the end of 2021, new research suggests.
Analysts from the Centre for Economic Performance (CEP) at the London School of Economics said extra checks and requirements on goods crossing the border increased food prices by 6% overall, burning a £5.8bn hole in consumers' pockets.
The rising costs have likely hit poorer people harder, as those on low incomes tend to spend a greater share of their pay packets on food, the CEP found.
The research comes the day after data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) trade body showed UK food price inflation hit a record high of 12.4% in November as the price of basics such as eggs, dairy products and coffee rose.
READ: UK food price inflation hits new high of 12.4%
CEP researchers studied micro data-tracking trade flows and consumer prices for food products in the UK to identify the transfer of the cost of Brexit red tape to householders.
“We find that leaving the European Union increased the price of food products by 3% a year, leading to a 6% increase over a two-year period,” they said in their report.