Fish and chip shops could disappear from West Yorkshire streets, industry warns
Industry leaders say many are having to close because of increased costs
There's a warning that one of our staple dishes could be at risk as a result of food shortages, caused by the war in Ukraine.
With the cost of living increasing, it's claimed fish and chip shops are one of the worst affected due to the margin of profit already being quite low.
Industry leaders fear up to a third of fish and chip shops could be forced to close.
50-percent of oil they use comes from Ukraine, while 40-percent of the UK's cod and haddock is from Russia.
Owner of Belle Isle Fisheries in Leeds, Neil Jones says: “The main thing that’s affecting us at the moment is the cost of gas and electricity but also the rising cost of fish.
“I took the shop on four years ago, the fish I was paying £90 a box for is now £230 and up.”
People on Facebook have been angry that their fish and chips portions were getting smaller but inevitably, that will be the case for many shops.
Neil added: “The goal is to be the fish and chip shop that survives, many are losing their businesses due to rising costs.”
Neil aims to just increase prices to a point where its still affordable for customers and the shop is making a slight profit.
He adds: “Hopefully things will start to settle down in the future. Some are blaming this on Russia, a lot of the fish that comes in is Russian so there’s all sorts of factors”
Regarding support for fish and chip shop owners, Neil says: “Without any major reduction in cost of electricity and gas and seeing the price come back down in fish, I don’t know where we’re going to go with it, it’s just going to be more expensive for the consumer”