LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s biggest supermarket group Tesco said on Wednesday some Kraft Heinz products were not available in its stores after the U.S. food producer paused supply due to a dispute over pricing.
“We will not pass on unjustifiable price increases to our customers,” Tesco said in a statement.
“We’re sorry that this means some products aren’t available right now, but we have plenty of alternatives to choose from and we hope to have this issue resolved soon,” it added.
A spokesperson for Kraft Heinz it was working closely with Tesco to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.
“We are confident of a positive resolution,” they said.
The spat highlights the tension in the sector over who bears the most pain of soaring cost price inflation – manufacturers, retailers or consumers.
Kraft Heinz said that in the challenging economic environment – with commodity and production costs rising – it was looking at ways to provide value for customers “through price, size and packs” without compromising on quality.
UK inflation hit an over 40-year high of 9.1% in May and is forecast to hit double digits.
(Reporting by James Davey and Kate Holton, Editing by Kylie MacLellan)
