Crumbs! Crop crisis to push up price of bread

SNP ministers insist their own quango can’t be at fault over £330m ferry fiasco

FROM sirloin steak to manuka honey, the finer things in life can make food shopping rather expensive.

And supermarkets could soon be unveiling price hikes for another ‘luxury’ item – bread.

Experts have warned that costs will, er, rise after the worst British wheat harvest in decades.

Usable crops are down by as much as 40 per cent following extreme rain and droughts. Flour millers already face price increases of 20 per cent – and a No Deal Brexit could make matters even worse.

Farmers have been hit by a weather triple-whammy over the past twelve months. An unusually wet autumn stopped them planting as much wheat as usual, and the sodden soil affected crops’ survival rates. This February was the wettest on record with storms wreaking havoc across the UK.

By contrast, spring was extremely dry with some areas facing droughts. Thirdly, after more deluges in August, many farmers have been forced to delay their harvests. Matt Culley, chairman of the National Farmers Union’s crops board, said of his Hampshire farm: ‘We’re looking at a 30 per cent reduction in our good fields.’ The picture in some of the ‘poor fields’ is even bleaker.

He described this year’s harvest as the worst he’s had in 37 years working the land, telling the BBC that much of his wheat will now only be good enough for animal feed. The resultant rise in wheat prices has pushed up flour costs, which may eventually lead to a bigger bill at the supermarket till. The National Association of British and Irish Millers said wheat prices are already up by more than 20 per cent and, with its members operating on tight margins, most of the increase is passed on to buyers.

Around 85 per cent of wheat used for flour in the UK is grown in this country – meaning shortages have to be met with imports. However, failure to secure a trade deal with the EU could make this more difficult, more expensive, or both.

MINISTERS yesterday blamed a botched ferries contract on the previous operator of the shipyard they now run.

A dispute between Ferguson Marine and a Scottish Government quango sparked a bitter row which led to huge delays and cost overruns to the £97million contract to build two CalMac ferries.

But SNP ministers, who nationalised the Port Glasgow yard last year when Ferguson collapsed into administration as a result of the dispute, yesterday leapt to the defence of Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL).

It comes a day after the latest increase in costs – £3.3million – was revealed. The total bill for the two ferries and nationalisation of the yard is likely to soar to £330million.

It was also revealed yesterday that bosses on the site have discovered there may be an ‘inherent design problem’ with one of the ferries.

Appearing in front of MSPs on the final day of a Holyrood inquiry into the fiasco, Connectivity Minister Paul Wheelhouse said: ‘It is not our role to attribute blame or to act as a form of extra-judicial dispute resolution mechanism for the contracting parties.

‘It is of course correct that we reflect on the experience, to learn from this experience for future projects. There was undoubtedly, in our view, contractor failure on this project and our advisers have confirmed this. In terms of the PWC report that was produced for us, it indicated that to us.’

He said that an independent assessment was made on Ferguson’s claim against CMAL which found there was ‘no basis’ on which CMAL could continue to advance finances to the firm – and said workers had reported ‘inefficient working practices’ at the yard.

Mr Wheelhouse also defended CMAL, saying its role ‘has been very important throughout’.

He added: ‘I believe they have been doing what they were charged with doing and doing a good job of it.’

During yesterday’s meeting, connectivity committee convener Edward Mountain raised concerns about an update on the project that suggested there ‘may be an inherent design problem’ related to hull vibration on one of the ferries.

Mr Wheelhouse said any potential costs related to risks were accounted for within the latest projected overall cost.

He rejected claims from former site owner Jim McColl that the Government should have done more to bring about mediation – and said Ferguson were told they should consider going through the courts if they felt they had a case against CMAL.

Mr Wheelhouse said: ‘Every reasonable step was taken to try to resolve the situation.’

Appearing at the committee earlier this year, Mr McColl accused former finance secretary Derek Mackay of making ‘scandalous claims’ by blaming Ferguson for the fiasco.

He also said he made pleas to ministers, including Nicola Sturgeon, to force CMAL into mediation because it provided ‘the cheapest way out’.

SNP’s ferries 5 years late (and £110 m over budget)

From yesterday’s Mail ‘Inherent design problem’