The soaring cost of Christmas was laid bare last night amid rising prices on Chinese imports as well as higher petrol, energy and food bills.
Products leaving factories in China cost 10.7 per cent more last month compared with the same time last year.
It is the highest rise in 26 years amid runaway energy and commodity prices.
Analysts expect this to make white goods, electronics, furniture, games consoles and many other products more expensive.
Separately, there is strong evidence that panic buying of toys and other products has already begun, with brands such as Barbie and Lego selling at ‘Christmas quantities’.
There has also been a surge in sales of frozen turkeys, while 75 per cent more Christmas puddings have been purchased than usual at this time of year.
The soaring cost of Christmas was laid bare last night amid rising prices on Chinese imports as well as higher petrol, energy and food bills
Disruption at Britain’s ports threatens shortages of many products, with Ikea warning that supply problems could continue for another 12 months. Jon Abrahamsson Ring, chief executive of its parent company, said: ‘This is here for a longer period than we thought of at the beginning of the crisis.’
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) warned that three in five retailers will be pushing up prices in the coming weeks.
Its director of food and sustainability, Andrew Opie, said: ‘There are clear signs that the cost pressures from rising transport costs, higher energy and commodity prices, and ongoing labour shortages, all of which are starting to filter through to consumer prices.’
He insisted the only way to stem increases is for the Government to change visa rules to allow in more foreign workers who are needed to fill vacancies across the economy.
Ministers have made some small changes to visa rules to allow in 5,500 HGV drivers, 5,000 workers in poultry processing and some 800 butchers to handle pigs and pork.
Products leaving factories in China cost 10.7 per cent more last month compared with the same time last year and Lego and Barbie have said they are already selling at 'Christmas quantities'
However, the BRC, farmers and the rest of the food industry say this piecemeal approach will not make a significant difference.
The recent petrol panic means the cost of fuel to business and the public has surged, which will feed through to delivery and shopping basket costs.
While an energy price shock, with the cost of gas and electricity, will push up the price of manufactured goods, everything from the metal used in new cars to bricks, dinner plates, paint and industrial chemicals.
Just this week, major food firms have warned that prices,
