Russia-Ukraine war puts UK fish & chips industry in severe jeopardy

The on-going conflict between Russia and Ukraine has adversely affected the fish and chips industry in the United Kingdom, driving the closure of centuries-old shops, sharp price hikes, and change in menus.

The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) has triggered a warning on the short supply of the four main ingredients that make up conventional fish and chips.

As per the NFFF, the UK is completely dependent on Ukraine for the supply of sunflower oil. In fact, almost 50 per cent of the oil used by the British fish and chips eateries is imported from the war-struck country.

Moreover, the alternatives of the oil, such as palm oil and rapeseed oil, have been observing sky-high prices over the last months, making them unsuitable for restaurant margins.

Meanwhile, reliable sources cite, almost 40 per cent of the haddock and cod consumed in the UK is sourced from Russia, and the sanctions imposed by Britain on Russian-caught white fish will result in the North Sea supplies being high priced and scarce.

Additionally, other materials derived solely from Russia such as fertilisers for the potatoes have also tripled in price, along with flour which is used for mixing fish bater.

This global scarcity of the main ingredients is causing the prices to soar, dwindling the profit margins.

A saddening instance of these growing pressures can be seen as Knights, which is one of the oldest family-operated chips shop in the UK, having opened its doors in Somerset during Queen Victoria’s reign.

Family businesses such as these have been severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis that followed.

Knights, notably, has been through several rough patches with two World Wars, global pandemic, and recession.

George Morey, Takeaway Manager, Knights expressed his concern over the ban on fish import from Russia, stating that he is unsure whether there will be enough fish to run the shop at all.

Morey mentioned that his team is preparing for the worst case scenario and added that this poses the biggest challenge the UK’s iconic fish and chip industry has faced.

Source Credits: - https://news.sky.com/story/food-shortages-could-force-a-third-of-fish-and-chips-shops-to-close-12613442