The future of Britain's fish and chip shops is under threat with a stark warning that a third of chippies could be forced to shut down due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Four key ingredients - sunflower oil, cod and haddock, and potatoes - that make up one of the country's favourite meals have soared in price with some becoming scant in supply since Vladimir Putin's Russian army invaded Ukraine.
The National Federation of Fish Friers (NFFF) has warned chippies are having to change their menus and pass on the increase in price to their customers. But worst could come with the NFFF saying a third of fish and chip shops could be forced to turn off their friers for good.
Speaking to Sky News, NFFF president Andrew Cook said many of his members think those in power "do not care".
"We need action before long-term damage is done that can't be repaired," he said.
"We aren't after handouts. We are a proud industry. But a lot of businesses will go to the wall and we need a long-term strategy to see us through."
The NFFF said Britain's sanctions on Russian white fish will mean North Sea supplies of cod and haddock will be scarcer and more costly with 40 per cent of the fish coming from Russia.
The government announced in March it would be putting a tariff on all imports of Russian whitefish, among other products, with a rise of 35 percentage points.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak said at the time: "Our new tariffs will further isolate the Russian economy from global trade, ensuring it does not benefit from the rules-based international system it does not respect.
"These tariffs build on the UK’s existing work to starve Russia’s access to international finance, sanction Putin’s cronies and exert maximum economic pressure on his regime."
But two weeks later the government confirmed the tariff had been postponed, with The Grocer this week reporting the sanction could come into force "imminently".
Russia also supplies the main bulk of fertiliser that is used for potatoes, but that too has tripled in price.
And it's not just in Russia where the industry is feeling the impact, with half of sunflower oil used in fish and chip shops in Britain coming from Ukraine.
Writing on its Facebook page on Sunday, the NFFF said: "The NFFF has been fighting tirelessly to try to get government to act and help the hospitality sector have a strong future so we can continue to provide great jobs and help the economy recover."
The NFFF said there are around 10,500 specialist fish and chip shops in the UK with us Brits eating a total of 382 million meals every year.
