British fish-and-chips shops are raising prices and bulk ordering supplies. Costs were already steadily increasing before Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent prices soaring. Then cooking oil, a main ingredient for chips shops, took a hit.
Andrew Crook, owner of Skippers fish-and-chips shops in Lancashire in northwest England, told Insider that the cost of sunflower oil had gone up around 50% in roughly three weeks.
Crook – who also serves as president of the National Federation of Fish Friers – said that shops, including his own, were stocking up in anticipation of continued price hikes and limited supplies.
Crook said he paid £30 per 20-litre drum of oil before Russia invaded Ukraine. Now he pays £44. In a typical week he said he uses around 10 drums, putting his overall costs at roughly £140 higher per week, or £560 per month.
With high demand pushing up the prices of other oils, some shops are instead turning to tech for solutions. Crook has a machine that helps assess if oil can be reused, and he is also looking into tablets and catalytic converters that clean oil as it fries.
"If it's gonna run out, we need to preserve the stocks we've got," Crook said.
It's not just oil that's getting more expensive. Crook said prices were going up "across the board," with the cost of fish doubling and potatoes set to soar because of rising fertilizer and fuel costs.
Jeff Cansdale, who owns Finn's Traditional Fish and Chips in Reading, which is 20 minutes by train from central London, told Insider his store had had to raise prices by 30% after rising costs squeezed its margins.
"This has a huge impact on a small business like mine," Cansdale said. "I imagine we have a very tight six to 12 months."
Crook has also put prices up and said he'd have to do this again soon. He said that the price of sunflower oil wouldn't dip significantly anytime soon because of the extent of the damage to Ukraine's infrastructure.
"I really do worry that this knock-on effect will likely last for a few years," Cansdale said.