Fresh fears of a carbon dioxide shortage mean UK food security is “under threat”, the boss of the UK’s biggest chicken processor has warned. Ranjit Singh Boparan – who runs 2 Sisters Food Group and has been dubbed the Chicken King – said a key food industry CO2 supplier has threatened to increase prices up to 20 times current levels after a rival said it will halt production.
Last week, CF Fertilisers said it was stopping production at its remaining UK ammonia plant in Billingham, near Middlesbrough, after soaring energy costs made production “uneconomical”. The company is one of the UK’s biggest producers of CO2, which is a by-product from the production of ammonia.
It comes almost two years after CF first stopped production at its factory, sparking anger among suppliers and an urgent supply agreement co-ordinated with Government to ensure production continued. The boss of 2 Sisters, which supplies supermarkets including M&S and Tesco, said the latest shutdown is leading to a reduction in supply and therefore further cost increases, which lead to higher prices for customers.
