War in Ukraine threatens to sink English ‘fish and chips’

They managed to escape Brexit and Covid-19 and are trying to survive historic inflation, but the war in Ukraine threatens to sink thousands of sellers of traditional “fish and chips”, the national symbol of cheap and popular food in the UK.

In Brighton, on England’s south coast, Captain’s restaurant owner Pam Sandhu doesn’t like to complain. But in the establishment’s large refrigerators, there are many empty shelves, when they should be full of cod to be breaded and served with fries, as tradition dictates.

“With the war in Ukraine, there is no fish left, or only a small amount remains,” she said. “And prices doubled from last year to here.”

On that sunny spring Friday, her concern was whether she would have enough fish to meet the weekend’s demand.

Sandhu has worked in the fish and chips business for 30 years, often seven days a week, and says he has never faced supply problems or such strong cost pressure.

It acquired the restaurant in Brighton, which offers sea-view balconies three years ago, and planned to open in March 2020.

The Covid-19 pandemic prevented her from fulfilling her initial plan. Then came inflation. More recently, the war in Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

Russia typically supplies between 30% and 40% of the fish (mostly cod and herring) sold in British fish and chips, according to Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF).

Ukraine is also the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, used for frying. And Sandhu points to a “shortage” of oil.

In mid-March, London announced a 35% tariff on Russian fish, adding to unrest at a time when fish sellers are already suffering from rising gas prices, Sandhu’s other major concern.

This popular dish that was born in the 1860s, traditionally served wrapped in sheets of newspaper, involves a fillet of white fish breaded and served with fries, accompanied by mashed peas and tartar sauce.

Margins dropped to zero

“Our product has always been considered cheap food, and our margins have always been low. We work with volume. Unfortunately, with prices going up, it’s very difficult to protect margins, which have dropped to close to zero,” Crook told AFP.

He owns a fish and chips restaurant in Lancashire, northwest England, and has raised the price of the product by 50p; a serving now costs £8.50.

He guarantees that the fish has become even more expensive because some British fishing boats are not leaving because of the high price of fuel.

He also mentioned the return of VAT to the 20% rate in March, after its temporary reduction to 12.5% ​​during the pandemic.

Before the war broke out in Ukraine, Crook estimated that around 3,000 of the 10,000 fish and chip establishments in the UK could close their doors within five years.

Now, “that number of closures is likely to happen in six months,” he says.

Sandhu hopes that her reputation and the quality of her product will allow her to overcome the crisis.

She hasn’t raised her prices, though “keep an eye out to see what others do.” But she doesn’t want to lose customers due to high prices.

In her refrigerators, instead of the cod that is scarce, she now keeps hamburger buns. On her restaurant menu, hot dogs, hamburgers and sausage patties are cheaper than fish and chips.

Sitting on the balcony facing the sea, in the company of her octogenarian mother, Sharon Patterson, a loyal customer of the restaurant, guarantees that she does not want to give up this dish. “Prices are going up but we have to support local businesses and as long as possible I will come eat fish and chips as often as I can.”

“Because I was raised that way and that’s part of my culture,” she added.

Translation by Paulo Migliacci