The world’s largest food and drinks companies have said that poorer consumers in the US are cutting their spending in the face of persistent price rises, in a sign that the lowest earners are bearing the brunt of sticky US inflation. (The Financial Times £)

Consumers had been “more discriminating with every dollar they spend”, the boss of McDonald’s said as the American fast-food chain missed Wall Street’s profit expectations in the last quarter (The Times £).

Lidl is to open hundreds more supermarkets as the German discounter launches a new challenge to established British grocers. (The Telegraph £)

Importers of food from the EU into Britain have said newly introduced post-Brexit checks could increase their costs by up to 60%, pushing up prices for customers and driving some shops out of business. (The Guardian)

New checks brought in under the UK’s Brexit trade agreement will cost one business up to £225,000 a year, its co-owner has said. (The BBC)

‘It’s pretty gloomy out there’: new NFU chief Tom Bradshaw fights to give food producers a better deal. Rishi Sunak claimed to have farmers’ backs but their union’s president is far from convinced, as he spars with the government over floods, falling markets and fraught retailer relations. (The Guardian)

The world’s largest standalone consumer healthcare firm Haleon will close its UK production site as part of a cost-cutting exercise that will see the loss of hundreds of jobs. (The Daily Mail)

Japan Tobacco’s chief executive has said the company will keep its lucrative Russian business to satisfy investors after reshaping its supply chains to comply with sanctions. (The Financial Times £)

Archer Daniels Midland’s profits fell less than expected in the first quarter, the global agricultural commodities merchant’s latest update since it set out the details of a probe into its accounting practices last month. (The Financial Times £)

The challenges facing traders in an increasingly turbulent cocoa market were laid bare yesterday when the price of the key chocolate ingredient slumped to its lowest level in a month. (The Times £)

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