Demands for official investigation after price of baby formula rises 20pc since 2021

The consumer watchdog is being urged to investigate the high cost of baby formula as the prices of some of the most popular brands have risen more than 20pc since 2021.

It comes amid fears that cash-strapped parents are now diluting baby formula to make it last longer – even though this can pose a risk to infants.

The prices of SMA, Aptamil and Cow & Gate infant formula have all risen by 17pc to 22pc in the last two years.

Last month’s Consumer Price Index found the price of baby formula had risen by 7pc in a year.

Labour senator Rebecca Moynihan has written to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) calling for an investigation.

Ms Moynihan said she was concerned that a small number of brands could monopolise the market and said formula prices were soaring well above rates of inflation.

“The price of infant formula has not only risen over the last decade but has reached unprecedented heights post-Covid. This price-gouging is unacceptable, especially considering it far exceeds national average inflation rates,” she said.

Ms Moynihan urged the Government to move to set price caps for infant formula and investigate if there were a way to introduce generic brands.

She said she believed that rules banning the use of supermarket vouchers on formula should be relaxed, and that more generic brands should be introduced into the market.

“It is so stigmatising that baby formula is classed the same way as smoking and alcohol in that parents can’t use supermarket shopping vouchers for it. I don’t think we should attach morality to how we choose to feed our babies,” she said.

In Britain, a similar investigation by its consumer watchdog resulted in formula giant Danone cutting the price of its powdered Aptamil formula brand in the UK by 7pc.

The French maker did not reduce the cost of its premixed liquid formula or its Cow & Gate brand in the UK.

Separately, figures from Nielsen on the top four Irish formula brands show all their prices have risen by between €3 and €4.73 a kilogram since 2021.

The average price per kilogram of SMA rose from €17.37 in 2021 to €20.47 last year, an increase of 17.8pc.

For Aptamil, the price rose from €17.87 per kilogram to €21.61, a hike of 20.9pc. Cow & Gate increased in price from €15.22 to €18.63, or 22.4pc.

Parents who use Kendamil formula had to pay the highest price rise, with the cost for a kilogram climbing by almost a third from €14.43 in 2021 to €19.16 last year.

The four brands have a 95pc share of the formula market.

Nestle, which makes the SMA brand of formula, said it had been “working hard to keep products affordable and accessible for parents, despite significant increases in costs, while still paying fair prices to our suppliers, including farmers”.

Danone, which produces Aptamil and Cow & Gate, said: “We have tried to absorb costs and make savings to offer our best value for parents, minimising price increases where possible.”

A CCPC spokesperson said it had received Ms Moynihan’s letter and would respond.

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