There’s something to Kevin Rudd’s claims that food prices are rising at a level well above inflation.

The latest retail sales figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics show clearly that food is booming: sales and their value in July this year were up sharply on July 2006, according to figures released on Friday.

In original terms (the amount people actually spend, not the “seasonally adjusted” figures, which are just the statistician’s adjustments to smooth out the month to month changes) food sales were 9.6% higher in July than a year earlier.

According to the ABS the raw figures were $7.896 billion, compared to $7.204 billion on July 2006 — the fastest growth in food sales since the middle of 2004.

Inflation was around 2.9% as measured by the Consumer Price Index, and even if we allow for the impact of the drought on beef, dairy and grains, there’s still a large part of the rise unaccounted for.

Even if you look at the movement in seasonally adjusted terms, food sales in July were 7.9% above those of July 2006. The ABS said supermarket sales rose 7.7%, takeaway food sales jumped a large 10%, while “other sales” of food were 16% higher.

In its recent profit statement Woolworths said sales in its Australian supermarkets rose 9.2% over the year to June, while earnings before interest and tax jumped 25.5% to a record $1.680 billion and the so-called EBIT margin (which is earnings before interest and tax as a percentage of sales), jumped by 0.67% to a record 5.16 cents in every dollar. Rival Coles EBIT margin at the half way mark was 3.80% and going nowhere.

There’s an inquiry underway into petrol prices, but is that just a nice diversion away from where Woolies and others really make their money?

Kevin Rudd may have a point worth chasing down.