Tesco today reduces prices by an average of 18 per cent on 54 lines of Irish and international brands.
These include a reduction on that most seasonal of vegetables, Brussels sprouts, which falls by 33.7 per cent. Other reductions include a 21 per cent price cut on Irish Pride wholemeal bread and a 12.5 per cent cut on Galtee cooked ham.
The price reductions, which include fresh food, cleaning fluids and pet food, should now be in place in all of Tesco's stores in the Republic. Further price cuts will be announced later in the year. A survey carried out by Tesco, and seen by The Irish Times, puts a basket of eight selected goods at £13.69 in Tesco, £15.62 in Dunnes Stores, Cornelscourt, Dublin, and £15.82 in SuperValu, Churchtown, Dublin.
This survey includes Ballyfree chicken burgers, Denny sausages, Erin savoury rice, Roma ready meals, Kelloggs fruit and fibre, Kelloggs Special K, Galtee cooked ham and Jacobs chocolate biscuits.
Three recent grocery basket surveys, carried out on behalf of the Office of the Director of Consumer Affairs, found that prices of branded goods were remarkably similar in the major supermarkets. The director, Ms Carmel Foley, has referred the results of the survey to the Competition Authority.
Meanwhile, all supermarkets should have reduced the prices of a substantial portion of their stock following the reduction in the top rate of VAT on January 1st. The rate dropped from 21 to 20 per cent.