The Irish grocery market has slipped into deflation for the first time since May 2015. Grocery prices dropped 0.7 percentage points month-on-month to -0.2% in the 12 weeks ending 26 March 2017, according to data published by Kantar Worldpanel. Kantar conducted a survey of 30,000 products stocked in supermarkets across Ireland and the results show that prices are trending downwards.

Bottled colas saw the biggest price cut in the 12 weeks with the cost of goods such as 2 litre bottles of Coca-Cola and Pepsi dropping by as much as 10%. Biscuits are another item also getting cheaper, falling by as much as 8% during the period, while frozen vegetables fell also fell by 8%. The price of coffee has also fallen, by up to 6% during the period. This decrease comes after a supply crunch saw prices shoot up.

Despite the overall trend leaning towards falling prices, certain areas and products saw substantial price jumps. The price of fresh fish skyrocketed during the period, increasing by 12% while tinned fish also rose in price by 4%. Herbal teas and packet soup also increased significantly by 8% each, and sugar rose by 5%.The average price of a bottle of wine also rose, up by 3 per cent in the latest survey.