Customers will be lining up outside chippies on Good Friday, but the price of fish may come as a shock.
The price of white fish, including Good Friday staples like cod and haddock, has risen to record levels, while the war in Ukraine is having an impact on cooking oil prices, energy prices have rocketed and the rate of VAT has increased. All this means the once cheap and cheerful traditional meal is climbing towards, and in some cases past, the £10 mark.
Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, told Good Morning Britain: "We're currently seeing the highest fish price we've ever seen, and that's post-pandemic inflation. A lot of oil comes from Ukraine, it's not really started to affect us yet, but people are buying the oil, so that's forcing the price up. My oil's gone up 25% last week, another 10% this week. And, of course, we've returned to 20% VAT, which is probably the straw that will break the camel's back."
Read more: Why so many people eat fish and chips on Good Friday
Customers, Andrew said, may have to start rethinking how they view cod and haddock and urged them to support fish and chip restaurants and takeaways.
"I think we just need to change the way we look at fish and treat it more like steak. It's a premium protein and it's good quality.
"We've got to make sure that consumers come out and support fish and chip shops, because, without customers, we won't exist, it's going to be a very difficult time for business."
Speaking earlier this month, Waseem Mir, manager at the Harbour View in Seaton Sluice, Northumberland, told ChronicleLive he has written to MP Ian Levy, asking Blyth's Tory MP to raise the issue in parliament, after VAT was raised to 20% again and the price of fish jumped by 115%. He has chosen to slightly reduce portion sizes to keep the price down.
Mr Mir said: “Fish and Chips have been popular since the start of the 20 th Century and the tradition of a wholesome family meal has survived two world wars and many recessions, but rising costs are threatening the future of Britain’s fish and chip shops. Rather than increase our prices dramatically, we have slightly reduced the sizes of our portions, which are still larger than many other restaurants and takeaways.
“My fear is that some less established family businesses will close resulting in job losses and we’ll all lose the tradition of having good quality food from the local fish shop. We’ve had a difficult two years with Covid and now this price rise isn’t helping business.
“I personally don’t feel that the Government is helping us in any way. I’m asking Mr Levy to raise this issue as a matter of urgency, and I’ve invited him to our restaurant to sample our food and discuss the problem.”
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