Chip shops battered by potato shortage

THE price of fish and chips is expected to soar this winter – due to a potato shortage that threatens to put some chippies out of business.

The cold snap early in the year followed by a long hot summer has hit potato crops in the UK, and a sack of spuds now costs double what it did last year.

And the situation has been worsened by increases in the price of cod and haddock due to scarcity caused by warmer sea temperatures.

Fish and chip shops are having to pass the extra costs onto customers by hiking prices or cutting portions – and some may even be forced to shut. Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said: ‘It’s been the perfect storm – the worst conditions for the crops.

‘For a lot of shops it’s going to be very difficult. It means prices will have to increase. We are not doing it for profit, we are just trying to survive.’

A 25kg sack of potatoes, which makes around 40 portions of chips, now costs £12, compared to £6 last year. It is feared the price could hit £20 soon.

Crops in northern Europe have been affected by similar weather, meaning the situation cannot be solved by imports.

British consumers eat some 167million portions of the national dish every year, spending around £1.2billion, according to the federation.

‘We are just trying to survive’