Unfortunately for shoppers in the United Kingdom, it doesn't look like inflation will stop anytime soon. Due to oil and gas shortages caused by the Russia-Ukraine war and rising energy costs, dairy products, sugar, and eggs have reportedly seen the most significant price increases at grocery stores, reaching an all-time high.

Prices have risen roughly 15% over the past year, and the U.K.'s inflation rate was at 8.4% in February and grew to 8.9% in March — the largest increase on record since The British Retail Consortium (BRC) began keeping records in 2005 (per Reuters). The BRC's Chief Executive, Helen Dickinson, said, "Shop price inflation has yet to peak."

While British shoppers have seen shortages in tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers, Dickinson cited rising sugar costs as one of the main reasons inflation has continued to grow. Sugar beet plants can be damaged by aphids carrying yellow viruses, with nearly 70% of the country's sugar beet plants at risk. 

Rising costs of energy and damaged crops may have also made it more expensive to produce the crop, forcing farmers to grow less, reports Reuters. For the sake of sugar beet plants, the United Kingdom has temporarily authorized thiamethoxam, a pesticide typically banned throughout the European Union due to its harmful properties to bees.