Send more cod! Desperate chippies in plea to Norway
DESPERATE fish and chip shop bosses are to seek help from Norway amid the soaring cost of cod and haddock.
The move comes after warnings that thousands of Britain’s traditional takeaways could be forced out of business due to the sharp increase in prices.
Up to 40 per cent of our favourite fish suppers originate in Russia, but Government plans for a levy on imports following the invasion of Ukraine mean we face paying more at the counter.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, is due to make an impassioned plea on behalf of UK chippies in a speech at the annual Frozen At Sea gathering, which is organised by the Norwegian Seafood Council and is being held on Wednesday in the western port of Alesund.
He said: ‘Most vessel owners there [in Norway] produce headed and gutted fish that is then sent to be processed elsewhere. I am hoping I can get them to switch some
‘A third of our fish and chip shops could shut’
vessels to produce fillets for my industry, as we need as many as we can get to help keep the price as under control as possible.’
As an example of the soaring prices, the cost per kilo of Icelandic cod stood at £7.80 in October 2021 – it is now about £16.
Mr Crook, who runs the Skippers of Euxton fish and chip restaurant in Lancashire, added: ‘We are expecting a tariff on Russian white fish of 35 per cent, which will force the price of all fish upwards. We cannot be so reliant on supplies from one specific region.’
He fears that as many as a third of the UK’s 10,000 fish and chip outlets could shut in the next nine months, and also raised an alarm over the rising costs of cooking oil and potatoes.
The price of Irish beef dripping has doubled in less than a year – it was £1 per kilo in October 2021 and
now stands at more than £2. While the price of Ukrainian sunflower oil has risen from £1.50 per litre as recently as March to £2.75.
Calling for Government support for the sector, Mr Cook said he hopes to outline the importance of fish and chips in the UK at the Alesund conference because ‘it’s so iconic and ingrained in the nation’s hearts’.
He added that the hospitality and tourism industry needs ‘a longterm strategy which must involve a reduced rate of VAT’, insisting: ‘Not every business can be saved – we accept that – but action is needed now to ensure we get through this in the best shape possible.’