With raw material prices doubling, many fish and chip shops say they could be forced out of business, leaving an uncertain future for Britain’s most traditional take away.
Some fish and chip shops could opt to close after the cost of 25kg sacks of potatoes more than doubled to £20, according to Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers. “People might just shut their shop due to all the other costs as well,” he said. “They were barely keeping their heads above water, so this is going to be a step too far. Some shops will close until potato prices settle down but some it may put under.”
Even before the latest price rises, data revealed that the price of a fish supper in the UK had risen to an average of £9 (up £1.44, or almost a fifth) compared with a year earlier – with shop owners hit by rocketing costs for fish, cooking oil and electricity.
Rising energy, labour and fertiliser costs have combined with a lower-than-average UK potato crop to see both the wholesale and retail prices of a range of potato products increase. According to one source, supermarkets have increased the price charged for potatoes and chips by almost 60% in some cases.
The latest Office for National Statistics data shows that potato prices rose 24.8% in the latest set of data. Mark Taylor, chair of industry group GB Potatoes, said that in 2022 growers had faced a “perfect storm” as Brexit, Covid and the invasion of Ukraine pushed up production costs. Meanwhile, smaller crop yields in the UK and mainland Europe last year meant “there is a supply and demand equation going on as well.”