Food prices in the UK could rise 15% because of the war in Ukraine, one of the country's leading food producers has said. Ronald Kers, chief executive of food firm 2 Sisters, told the BBC the cost of food could rise by up to 15% this year.
Russia and Ukraine are among the largest suppliers of wheat in the world, while 2 Sisters has seen an increase in the price of meat already. At the same time the price of gas, used to heat greenhouses in the UK for growing fruit and vegetables, has also leapt.
The National Farmers Union said last week that farmers are choosing not to plant crops in the UK as they cannot afford to heat the glasshouse - with some crops seeing an 85% drop in volume planted this year. 2 Sisters, which employs more than 14,000 people in the UK, has seen the price it pays for chicken increase by 50% already.
Mr Kers told Today: "Fundamentally it means as a country we may need to start importing less and producing more ourselves". We need to work together with all supply chain partners to find a solution... it's a very complex issue."
NFU president Minette Batters also told the BBC: "We are going to see wheat price inflation levels that have never happened." New search from the Resolution Foundation think tank suggests the war in Ukraine could see a spike in the cost of living this autumn.
It said that inflation could reach 10%. The jump in oil prices since the beginning of the war in Ukraine has pushed up fuel prices - with the cost of diesel used in lorries to transport food and other goods adding to rising prices paid in shops.
