Fears for chippies as ministers prepare to ban Russian fish
MINISTERS are preparing to hit Russian seafood imports with punitive trade tariffs in a move that could cripple Britain’s fish and chips shops.
Government sources said there is a “clear intention” to include exports of Russian whitefish, including cod and haddock, in an upcoming wave of sanctions against Moscow.
“It is included on a list of Russian products we’ve said we intend to introduce tariffs on,” a government source said yesterday.
“There are no timescales on when we introduce the tariffs but we’ve made it very clear we intend to introduce them.”
Whitefish was originally among Russian exports earmarked in March to be slapped with a 35 per cent tariff by the UK in response to Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, but it was left out.
British sources denied Whitehall is working alongside the EU to implement similar sanctions as the bloc prepares a new package of measures. A European ban on Russian caviar, introduced by Brussels and London, is set to come into force at the end of this month.
The West is looking to ramp up the pressure on Moscow as the Russian army intensifies its efforts to take the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine.
Kyiv said yesterday that the fighting had reached “maximum intensity”.
Beyond Ukraine, Liz Truss, the Foreign Secretary, warned that Russian meddling in the western Balkans risked tipping the region back into war. Moscow was exerting a “malign” influence in the former Yugoslavia, she said on a visit to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In Britain, the whitefish sanctions have sparked concerns among fish and chips shop owners, who are already facing a cost of living crisis. Britain imports around 30 per cent of its whitefish from Russia, which controls around 45 per cent of the global market.
A third of the country’s takeaways fear they could be forced to close if there are shortages of essential ingredients such as cod, haddock and sunflower oil – half of which was imported from Ukraine before the Russian blockade.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said the new tariffs would “pile more pressure on an industry already feeling the full force of inflationary costs”.
“If they feel this is the best way to apply pressure on Putin we have to go with it,” he added. “We don’t expect special treatment but I hope the Government does listen to the calls from the whole of the hospitality industry for a long term strategy for the sector and part of that has to be a reduction in VAT.”
Westminster insiders accept that the incoming sanctions would “hit us hard”, but insist they are “looking at measures to mitigate the substantial reliance on Ukrainian sunflower oil”.
Andrew Bridgen, Conservative MP for North West Leicestershire, said he supported the “necessary” sanctions against Russia, but said fish and chips shops would “bear the brunt” in terms of rising prices and joined calls for VAT cut.
“It’s going to have a devastating effect on fish and chips shops. The sanctions will bring into focus the threats to the industry,” Mr Bridgen said.
“Fish and chips shops are a totemic part of British life, and if it becomes an expensive treat rather than a staple many of them will be out of business.”