‘Everything is going up. I am not sure how long we can last now. Maybe not the year’
Scott Burns, owner of J Hastie butchers, has already been forced to raise prices and is fearful of the future.
He said: “The price of everything is going up. I am not sure how long we are going to be able to last, maybe not the year. The war in Ukraine has made everything more difficult, because the price of grain and animal feed is going up.
“Sausage guts have gone up 100%, a beef cow now costs £1,800, a box of chicken has doubled from £20 to £40. Even taking produce to the market has become much more expensive. It would just be cheaper to get the sheep a taxi at this point.”
Even without the soaring costs of produce, J Hastie butchers has been left vulnerable to rising energy costs.
Burns said: “The cost-of-living crisis has had a terrible impact on me. My energy bills have almost doubled.
“It cost £321 to just maintain the refrigeration for my display cabinet, and my electric has become much more expensive.”
The cost-of-living crisis combined with the effects of the pandemic means the shop has seen a slump in customers over the last year.
“During lockdowns, we were at some of our busiest times like a lot of butchers were across the country,” said Burns. “But now that things have opened up again, we have seen a lot fewer people.
“Last week we actually had our quietest week ever – footfall has dropped massively.”
The downturn has forced Burns to adjust how he manages the business, including being forced to implement a deposit scheme if people fail to collect ordered cuts.
He explained: “Through the pandemic, I had to start taking deposits because Covid was affecting how many people were coming to pick up their preordered cuts, and we were starting to lose out.
“I was, however, given £300,000 by the Government to help struggling families in a voucher scheme. They would come in with their vouchers, and I would give them what it was worth.
“But it’s terrible that we even need a voucher scheme in the first place.”