Soaring wheat prices have already started hitting the consumer, new data from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) shows.

A survey by the BRC and the research group Neilsen found that annual food inflation rose to 3.8% in August from 2.5% in July.

'Past rises in the cost of global commodities, such as wheat and sugar, are filtering through to food prices,' said Stephen Robertson, director general of the BRC.

Wheat prices in particular have risen sharply lately, largely due to hot weather in Russia and other countries.

However Robertson pointed out that commodity prices were still off their 2008 highs.

'We're nowhere near the return of the double-digit food inflation of two years ago,' he said.

'Despite its recent increase, wheat is over a third cheaper than its peak in 2008, while oil prices are virtually half of what they were back then.'

The rise in food prices contrasts with non-food inflation, which slowed to 0.5% in August from 1% in July.

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