DW Zoe Katzagiannaki, London
For over 150 years Fish and Chips have been number one in the heart of Britain. It is the first choice when they finish work or after a frantic night in a pub. Even tourists create queues outside the shops to try it.
A feature of the top of the preferences is that the store industry records an annual turnover of 1.2 billion pounds, offering over 382 million dishes a year. In fact, according to the Fish and Chips Stores Association (NFFF), 80% of Britons visit their stores at least once a year and 22% are regular customers going at least once a week.
The British once used the term “cheap as chip” to describe anything cheap. But now that is changing… The industry suffered a first blow during the two years of the pandemic and before the war broke out in Ukraine it leads to a real problem as it has increased the cost of literally every ingredient in the dish.
Sunflower oil and flour “deepen” the crisis in fish and chips
Sunflower oil, flour, potatoes and fish are at the mercy of war and sanctions. Characteristically, more than half of the sunflower oil used by the shops is supplied from Russia or Ukraine, while even the breading of the fish is done mainly with Ukrainian flour. Potato fertilizers are Russian and about 40% of the fish used are caught by Russian trawlers.
Repeatedly and this time through the German News Agency (dpa), the head of the Association of Fish and Chips Stores (NFFF), Andrew Crook, called on the Johnson government to reduce the tax on ready meals, which is currently at 20 %, leaving little profit margin to entrepreneurs.
It is pointed out that the British government had reduced the VAT in the industry during the pandemic period due to the unfavorable economic situation, but after its end it restored the taxes to pre-pandemic levels. But as Andrew Crook told the dpa, “without change, many good employers will struggle to survive.”
Nearly 10,500 Fish and Chips stores are currently operating across the UK, but it is estimated that extreme inflation could lead to a lockout of around 30% of them. Today, in fact, the National Statistical Service announced that the rate of price increase recorded the highest in the last 40 years, now reaching 9% without signs of slowing down.
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