Fish 'n' chips price hike as shortages strike

Restaurants across the board have now started to raise menu prices, according to the British Hospitality Association.

The very wet start to summer in Britain has left vegetable crops in poor shape.

Potatoes and peas are seen as among the worst hit crops and other vegetables such as cabbages, broccoli and sprouts could be in short supply soon.

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"After a five year period where we had flat prices, we've seen prices rising over the last six months," said Bob Cotton, chief executive of the British Hospitality Association, the restaurant trade association.

He cited a combination of factors, including high world markets for some products, flooding across parts of Britain and higher energy costs that were starting to affect food prices, and vegetables in particular.

"We're seeing prices up by 5-10 percent. Competition is fierce in the high street, so some of those increases you won't see.

But a good example of where you will is in the fish and chip shop - potatoes are up substantially, more than 10 percent."

The UK also faces a 50,000-ton pea shortage after the crop was damaged by rain, with farmers also struggling to harvest waterlogged land.

"The crop is very badly hit, it's a great concern. We have the biggest crop in Europe," said Martin Riggall, chief executive of the Processed Vegetable Growers Association (PVGA).

"Our estimate is that we'll have a crop of 70 to 75 percent at best of a normal crop. We've got crops ready for harvest but farmers can't get into the fields."

He said farmers feared a repeat of last year when a dry summer pushed retail prices up by almost 40 percent but farmers on fixed price contracts did not benefit.

He said flooding had also prevented the planting of crops such as cabbages, broccoli and sprouts, which could lead to more price rises in a few months.

"These could be in short supply come the autumn," he said.

Rising oil prices - lifting farmers' transport and fertiliser costs - are also increasing the pressure on food prices.

Flood damage is also putting pressure on the costs of animal feed such as feed wheat and soya, which in turn could force up prices of beef, poultry and pork.

Restaurants, such as Leon, a London-based chain, said they were considering switching to cheaper, vegetarian ingredients to avoid raising menu prices.

Last week, Peter Brabeck, chairman of Nestle pointed out that rises in food prices reflected not only temporary factors but also long-term and structural changes to supply and demand.

UK food prices climbed by 4.9 per cent in the year to May - more than double the Bank of England's 2 per cent consumer price inflation target.