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Manchester Evening News
Manchester Evening News
Entertainment
Emma Gill

We compared Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons - and one of them has swiped the cheapest crown

The cost of living crisis shows no sign of slowing down and food prices are increasing rapidly.

For the last three weeks we have compared the price of eight basics in various main supermarkets and each week there have been notable rises.

Shopping at Asda, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, we've been comparing the prices of eight items - a loaf of bread, a two-pint bottle of milk, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince.

While in previous weeks we have seen rises in milk, chicken and butter, this week two retailers - Lidl and Tesco - have increased the price of their cheapest 200g coffee, both by 16p (Tesco's being two of its Stockwell jars up to 83p each).

Read more: Families have forgotten 'centuries old tip' for making meals cheaper

There's been another price hike on the Tesco shopping basket too this week, with its mince up from £1.79 to £1.89, while we've also increased the price of Aldi's mince to reflect its 20% fat mince at £1.89, rather than the cheaper 25% fat for £1.69 which was previously the only one available.

The changes mean that Asda has swiped the 'cheapest' crown from Aldi for the first week - coming in at £9.44 for the lot.

It pipped the retailer to the top spot by just two pence, with Lidl just six pence behind.

Tesco's bill was £9.78, followed by Morrisons at £9.98 and Sainsbury's at £10.55.

Previous weeks have seen price rises at Aldi, where its butter went from £1.48 for a 250g block to £1.55 and at Morrisons' where milk rose from 95p for a two-pint bottle to 99p.

We've been comparing the prices of eight items - a loaf of bread, a two-pint bottle of milk, coffee, teabags, butter, beans, chicken breasts and mince (Manchester Family / MEN)

The price of chicken has also increased, with 300g packs at Aldi and Lidl rising from £1.79 to £1.85 and £1.79 to £1.99 respectively.

Morrisons has actually bucked the trend on coffee this week by reducing its 100g jars from 75p to 70p, bringing its price for 200g down from £1.50 to £1.40. But the reduction was cancelled out by its 10p price hike on mince, up from £1.79 to £1.89.

And if you're shopping in Lidl over the next few days, they have an offer running on their budget Red Label teabags, which are reduced from £1.09 to 79p for the pack of 160 this Friday to Sunday.

The only slight difference in sizes among our shopping is the baked beans, which range from 400g in Sainsbury's and 410g in Asda and Morrisons, to the standard 420g in Aldi, Lidl and Tesco - which shows you to keep an eye on the size as well as the price. And where the 300g packs of chicken differ at 330g and 350g, we've worked out the equivalent price for a fairer comparison.

Where are you finding the cheapest products at the moment? Let us know in the comments here.

Here's the shopping list and total for each supermarket (Thursday, April 21)

Asda

Loaf of white bread 800g (Smart Price) - 39p

Milk 2 pints - 95p

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g Smart Price) - £1.40

Teabags 160 (4 x 40-pack Smart Price) - £1.12

Salted butter 250g (Smart Price) - £1.45

Beans 410g tin (Smart Price) - 22p

Chicken (bigger 350g pack for £2.35) - equates to £2.01

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.90

Total £9.44

Aldi

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 95p

Coffee 200g - £1.65

Teabags 160 - 99p

Salted butter 250g - £1.55

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £1.85

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (up from £1.69 for 25% fat)

Total £9.46 (up from £9.26 last week)

Lidl

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 95p

Coffee 200g - £1.65 (up from £1.49)

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.45

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £1.99

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.79

Total £9.50 (up from £9.34 last week)

Our basket of shopping in Lidl (Manchester Family / MEN)

Tesco

Loaf of white bread 800g - 36p

Milk 2 pints - 95p

Coffee 200g (2 x 100g) - £1.66 (up from £1.50 last week)

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack) - £1.10

Salted butter 250g - £1.55

Beans 420g tin - 22p

Chicken 300g - £2.05

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (up from £1.79 last week)

Total £9.78 (up from £9.52 last week)

Morrisons

Loaf of white bread 800g - 59p

Milk 2 pints - 99p

Coffee (2 x 100g) - £1.40 (down by 10p)

Teabags 160 (2 x 80-pack Savers) - £1.10

Salted butter 250g - £1.75 (down by 2p)

Beans 410g tin - 21p

Chicken (bigger 330g pack for £2.25) - equates to £2.05

Mince 500g 20% fat - £1.89 (up by 10p)

Total £9.98 ( down from £10.18 last week)

Sainsbury's

Loaf of white bread 800g - 60p

Milk 2 pints - 95p

Coffee 200g - £1.65

Teabags 160 - £1.09

Salted butter 250g - £1.75

Beans 400g tin - 21p

Chicken 300g - £2.20

Mince 500g 20% fat - £2.10

Total £10.55

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