Cambridgeshire’s potato farms and chip shops are suffering from rising prices
Chip shops and local farmers who produce potatoes spoke out about rising costs.
Cambridgeshire’s potato growers claimed that higher fuel, fertilisers and seed prices were hurting their profits and that they would plant less potatoes.
Mark Petrou, a Chatteris chip shop owner, stated that he wouldn’t be able trade if his fuel costs continued to rise.
According to the government’s statement, they were providing “unprecedented support” for firms.
Petrou, a fish and chip shop owner since 1987, admitted that he had had to increase his prices by three times in the past year.
He said that although the cost of fish has increased by around 60%, he still tried to keep his food “affordable”.
He stated, “People realize that prices are rising everywhere.”
Mr Petrou said his fuel bill was due to increase in July next year from £900 a month to £3,500, which he said was “not sustainable – at that level we’ll not be able to trade”.
Based at Ramsey St Mary’s Farm, Luke Abblitt said that he would plant 14 acres of potatoes this year, as opposed to 20 acres last year.
He said, “There are a lot of input cost, so fertiliser prices have almost doubled, there are seed costs and fuel costs, as well as labour costs.”
Mr Abblitt indicated that his primary concern was “the volatility and the inability to know the costs. I will know the [prices] “At the end, I will know how much I can afford to pay.”
F Smith and Sons in Ramsey will plant only a third as many potatoes this year than last year.
Mat Smith, a farmer from the farm stated that “the reality is that we can’t afford not to continue like this” and suggested that they needed to diversify.
He estimates that the farm will lose about £50 per tonne of potatoes it sells, and has begun to make bird feed mix as it was more profitable.
Mr Smith stated: “It’s just a worst-case scenario, we had a very warm summer, so some varieties were half what we would expect. And our fuel costs are up.”
The government said it was providing an “unprecedented level of support for small business”, including £18bn this winter.
The company stated in a statement that they continue to support energy costs through the energy bills discounts scheme.
Wholesale prices will be discounted for firms until March 2024. under the new scheme.
The discount will be greater for heavy energy-user sectors like glass, ceramics, and steelmakers. However, firms will not benefit from this scheme if their energy bills are high.
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