Price of fish and chips to rise to over £10 for first time

The average price for a portion of fish and chips is set to rise above £10 in the UK for the first time, the organisation that represents chippies has said.

The price increase is down to a huge rise in costs, according to the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).

Since October, the price of cod has increased by 75%, and haddock has gone up by 85%, the NFFF said.

The cost of mushy peas has also gone up by 120%, and there has been a 40% surge in the price of batter.

Andrew Crook, president of the NFFF and owner of Skipper’s in Lancashire, said he could be forced to raise the price of fish and chips from £7.50 to over £10.

He said: "We have always worked on very narrow margins but now the increases are so severe it is going to be impossible for businesses to absorb."

Crook added: “We are in unprecedented times where we are seeing high levels of inflation and food inflation is even higher.

“Most of the supplies we use in the fish and chip industry have increased drastically in price and we are expecting this to continue for some considerable time.

“Other products are simply not available, and we have seen suppliers move away from the sector.”

Kyriacos Karoulla, the owner of Brockley's Rock in south-east London, said charging £10 for fish and chips would happen soon.

He told Yahoo News UK: "As absolutely everything that a fish and chip shop needs to operate has increased dramatically, charging £10 for fish and chips is regrettably inevitable, and in the very near future for Brockley's Rock.

"It is harder for us to continue to provide sustainable produce, but this is something we pride ourselves on and are pleased to say that we are still able to provide sustainable fish as well as packaging."

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Carlo Crolla, 47, owner of East Coast Fish & Chips in Musselburgh, East Lothian, Scotland, said costs were forcing shops to put up prices in a bid to survive.

The Crolla family has been serving the local community for nearly 50 years, but Crolla said energy bills have spiralled, and cooking oil is more expensive than ever.

He has backed a UK-wide campaign by the NFFF to help save Scottish fish and chip shops under threat of closure.

Chip shops are now facing huge rises in energy costs.

The UK's annual rate of inflation rose by 5.5% in the 12 months up to January, Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures revealed last week.

This is the highest since March 1992 and has been largely driven by increases in energy prices, with bills set to rise in April after Ofgem raised the price cap earlier this month.

Some members of NFFF have reported their electricity bills going up from £400 to £2,000 a month.

The NFFF is urging the government to reconsider its plan to increase VAT on food and soft drinks back from 12.5% to 20% in April.

A UK government spokesman said: “We’ve supported jobs and businesses throughout the pandemic with our £400bn package of funding and continue to do so.

“We’ve always been clear that the lower rate of VAT was a temporary measure to support businesses as they recover and thanks to the strength of our fantastic vaccine programme which has enabled restrictions to be lifted and the economy to reopen, it’s right that our package of support reflects this.”