Unilever have said "unprecedented cost inflation" lies ahead due to Russia's war on Ukraine.

The makers of Magnums, Marmite and Dove soap blames a surge in energy and ingredient costs for a planned hike in prices during 2022, reports the Guardian.

The company, which owns the Walls Ice Cream factory in Gloucester, said it expected its costs to rise by €2.7bn (£2.3bn) in the second half of 2022, after an already steep increase on the €2.1bn expected for the first half.

"It is inevitable you will see pricing accelerate through the rest of the year," said Alan Jope, Unilever's chief executive. "Has Unilever's pricing peaked? No, not yet."

The costs of palm oil, aluminium and other commodities have doubled or tripled compared with 2020, the company said.

Russia's invasion meant Unilever was forced to stop all operations in Ukraine. It has since restarted some sales using supplies from Poland and switched from Ukrainian sunflower oil to rapeseed oil in some products.

It has passed on higher costs to consumers. It reported price increases worth 8.3 per cent in the first three months of 2022 compared with a year earlier, even as the volume of sales dropped by 1 per cent.

It has raised prices in Europe by about 5 per cent, but it has increased prices by more than 10 per cent in some poorer countries.

Mr Jope said the disparity was caused by currency movements that have diminished poorer countries' purchasing power on top of the global commodities and energy price increases.