UK supermarkets to benefit from 'end of cheap food', says UBS Proactive uses images sourced from ShutterstockTesco PLC (LSE:TSCO), J Sainsbury PLC (LSE:SBRY) and other UK supermarkets are better placed than peers in other countries as food prices rise faster than before the pandemic and shoppers eat at home more often, according to UBS. The investment bank questioned whether the long-term global food inflation average of about 2.5% had become obsolete, declaring in a new report: "The End of Cheap Food?" UBS said squeezed margins across the food supply chain meant most additional costs were likely to be passed to consumers. The UK was described as the best-positioned grocery market, as its relatively "rational competitive landscape" enabled supermarkets to pass through more of their rising costs. However, analysts said high costs, operational complexity and uncertain returns meant adoption remained too slow to prevent food prices from rising.