The Co-operative Group has joined Andy Bond in claiming food inflation has peaked, less than two weeks after the Asda chief predicted prices would soon start to fall.

Co-op chief executive Peter Marks echoed the sentiments of his Asda counterpart  saying the price of staple goods including bread and meat would start to fall in the coming months.

“We are seeing despite the difficult weather, good crop yields, bigger crop yields and the harvests in Canada and Australia seem to have produced a lot more,” Marks told The Times.

“There’s a few more months of high prices left in the system but, by the end of this year, prices will start to come down on staples, like bread and meat. If wheat prices are coming down, then livestock feed will come down as well.”

Earlier this month Bond raised eyebrows by saying inflation had peaked on the day the Office of National Statistics released figures showing food inflation had risen to 13%.

Marks’ comments come after the Co-op yesterday unveiled record first-half results, with sales rising by 34% to break £4bn thanks to a spate of acquisitions and a 5% increase in like-for-like sales.