The prices of cod and cooking oil do boom. Meals are skipped in the UK due to high energy costs
Not only Italy. Also in the United Kingdom inflation gives wings and the cost of living scares more and more, seriously endangering one of the most popular dishes in the country: fish and chips (fried fish, usually cod, served with fries). But is it a general stampede or a more structured problem?
The surge of priceswhich only in April reached the 9%a record level that has not been seen for more than 40 years, is putting the fishmongers in the United Kingdom. In addition to the conflict in Ukraine, i energy costs and fueled, which ferried the key ingredients of the dish, such as cod And kitchen oilto unsustainable levels.
And now, in this gray climate, there are about 10 thousand restaurants in fish and chips that could lower the shutter in nine months. It was to sound the alarm Andrew Crookpresident of the National Federation of fish Friers (NFFF), the association representing 1,200 companies and operating for more than a century, who said: “The crisis is the worst I’ve ever seen“.
Crookwhich owns its own shop, pointed out that prices began to rise towards the end of last year, but the costs of basic ingredients have soared since the end of February, when Russia invaded the country. Ukraine.
Companies across all sectors are struggling against price spikes due to supply chain difficulties exacerbated by the war in Ukraine. But the British outlets of fish and chips, which traditionally operate with very tight margins, feel particularly penalized by the sector’s dependence on Russian imports. Until the 40% of the cod comes from Russian waters and about the half of the sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine.
According to Crookcompanies are paying about 83% more sunflower oil than in early March. Palm oil, which represents an alternative, has doubled in price as Indonesia, the world’s largest exporter, began limiting overseas sales last month to help keep domestic supplies intact. Compounding the situation are the dizzying energy bills and the soaring prices of fertilizers necessary for growing potatoes.
The fish and chips is one of the UK’s national dishes. The first shops opened in 1860 and spread rapidly with the industrialization of the country, helping to feed factory workers. During the Second World War, while the government rationed other basic necessities ‘such as tea’, butter and meat, this was not the case for the fish and chipsthe dish was so important to the working classes.
According to what was declared by Crook, customers expect fish and chips to be cheap but sadly it is getting more and more expensive. A year ago, the average price of a normal cod and chips was approx 7 poundsit is now approx 8.50 poundswith an increase of 21%.
Then the fear that the British government will impose severe duties on imports of Russian white fish has prompted companies to source alternative products, further increasing the price of Icelandic and Norwegian fish.
The price of a crate of Icelandic cod it is now £ 270 compared to last year’s £ 140. According to a survey by the Federation of Small Businesses, more than half a million small businesses in the UK (around one in 10) plan to close, downsize or sell in the next year, as many of them have difficulty in obtaining financing.
According to the NFFF, the government’s intention to introduce sanctions on Russian white fish it will highlight this “sad” situation even more. In March, he stated that he would impose a 35% tariff on all Russian whitefish imports. A spokesperson for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs later told the Guardian that the decision would be made “subject to further work on the specific implications for the sector”. But his words weren’t enough to reassure the restaurateurs.
United Kingdom, the cost of living scares: the Boe warms up the muscles
The fears of entrepreneurs and the cost of living increasingly looming open to a new financial chapter. According to estimates by the Bank of England, the crisis will not reach its peak before the end of this year will reach 10%.
For this reason, the monetary institution will have to take more aggressive actions and raise interest rates again, which have already been raised to 1%. The new lockdowns in China and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have exacerbated supply chain problems, causing global prices to skyrocket.
The government has come under increasing pressure to support the household income and Prime Minister Boris Johnson said last week that his government “will do something” in the short term to help British citizens, but he didn’t go into details. In April, inflation hit a 40-year high of 9%, more than four times the BoE’s 2% target. In just one month, compared to March, it grew by 2.5%.
The Governor of the Bank, Andrew Bailey he said the current surge in inflation posed the biggest challenge for the central bank since gaining independence in 1997 and that rising food prices are a major concern.
Despite forecasts of a sharp decline in household incomes, the BoE he still raised rates to 1%, at their top in 13 years, and expects new hikes. This was while the pound fell more than 2%, hitting a two-year low. Meanwhile, public opinion is increasingly pessimistic. Recent consumer sentiment surveys, such as Gfk, found that British citizens’ confidence in their own personal finances it is now at its lowest level since 1985. Meanwhile, according to what it learns from Sky news 24, the stories of Brits are multiplying who, due to high energy costs, opt for a “fast” and “cheap” lunch, fast and inexpensive. In some cases, the situation is even more dramatic: one of the two meals is directly skipped.
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