Raab: Food price rises not a worry

WARNINGS from supermarket bosses of food price rises and shortages under a no-deal Brexit have been dismissed as ‘bumps along the road’ by foreign secretary Dominic Raab.

Retailers including Tesco boss chairman John Allan warned leaving the EU without a deal on December 31 could push food bills up by an average of five per cent, adding new checks and tariffs were ‘almost inevitably going to lead to higher prices’.

Some food such as brie could soar in price by as much as 40 per cent, forcing shoppers to rely on British-only produce instead.

Mr Allan said: ‘ We may see some shortages of fresh foods, particularly short-life fresh foods.’

But he cautioned against panic-buying, saying: ‘There is still going to be plenty of food in the UK – there may just be slightly restricted choice for a period of time.’

Asked about potential price rises, Mr Raab (pictured) told the BBC: ‘Of all the things that will be a challenge, I am not concerned about either supermarket cupboards running bare or the cost of food prices.

‘Equally, there will be some bumps along the road if we don’t get a free-trade deal – that’s the inevitable consequence of change. But we will be wellbraced and well-prepared to deal with those and we are going to make a success of leaving the transition period, come what may.’ Supermarkets will face £3.1billion in annual tariffs on food and drink without a deal, the British Retail Consortium (BRC) reports. It said 85 per cent of foods from the EU are expected to face import taxes of more than five per cent, with an overall average of 20 per cent, under no-deal. The Food Foundation found, if the increases are passed on to consumers, the average family would pay four per cent more for their fruit and vegetables from the start of next year. Andrew Opie, of the BRC, said: ‘With just weeks to go, it is alarming there has still been no deal agreed with the EU, putting customers in line for a £3billion tariff bombshell.’ Meanwhile, online grocer Ocado has said it is stockpiling long-life products such as Italian beer.