Aldi headquarters announces 20-50 per cent price hikes

The supermarket’s German office has announced up to 400 products will be “significantly more expensive” – and the Aussie branch has addressed concerns.

Aldi products have been hit by a 20 to 50 per cent price hike this week in German stores – and there are concerns Aussies could face higher costs at the supermarket in the coming months.

Hundreds of products, including meat, sausages and butter, would be “significantly more expensive”, an Aldi Germany spokesman told European press agency DPA, due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine causing an unprecedented rise in manufacturing costs.

“Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, we’re witnessing jumps in purchase prices that we have not experienced in this way before,” spokesman Florian Scholbeck said.

One German media outlet claimed that up to 400 products could be impacted by the jump in prices.

Now Aussie customers have expressed concern that the price rise could also hit stores around the world, including at home.

“This is in Europe, but give it time,” one person wrote.

Are price rises coming to Aldi stores? Picture: NCA NewsWire/Paul Jeffers

But an Aldi Australia spokesperson said while the cost of various items may rise, the supermarket was still determined to keep prices lower than its competitors.

”While we can’t speak to the specific challenges in our European operations, we can confirm that even if prices on products do increase locally we are committed to keeping them as the lowest in the market for our Australian customers,” the spokesperson said.

“Every aspect of Aldi in Australia was built to withstand inflationary pressure, from our smaller format stores to our carefully curated private label range of groceries.

“It is our unwavering priority to continue to have the lowest prices on high quality products, no matter what happens in the world around us.”

Aldi said it is committed to keep prices at the lowest for Aussie consumers. Picture: Supplied

The rising cost of living has been creating a financial headache for Aussies.

Some groceries at Australia’s major supermarkets have risen up to a whopping 94 per cent in the past year, recent data revealed.

Consumer network One Big Switch compared the price of every product on the shelves right now at Coles and Woolworths to one year ago and found the worst categories for rises included meat, pantry items and drinks.

Overall, drinks rose the most with a massive price increase of 7.7 per cent, following by fruit and vegetables, and pantry staples, which went up 5 per cent on average.

But Aussies could see the prices of all supermarket products rise by 10 to 20 per cent, according to the boss of one of Australia’s biggest food manufacturers.

Prices have risen at both major supermarkets.

While manufacturers have also warned of increasing costs. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Sarah Marshall

Hussein Rifai, the chairman of SPC which specialises fruit packaging and canned goods, told 3AW last month he suspects the costs of his company’s 150-plus products will all be going up.

He flagged a price spike for around 100 items, including baked beans, tinned spaghetti, canned tomatoes and fruit cups.

For example, a 425g tin of baked beans could soon cost $2.20, up from $1.70.

News.com.au also found the exact difference three years makes to a trip to Woolworths is startling.

Comparing the 2019 receipts from a pre-pandemic supermarket shop of an inner-city Sydney couple with a five-year-old child, an 18-month-old infant and a cat, the same shop costs $45.90 more in 2022.