UK restaurant and pubs face a ‘terrifying’ hike in its prices, due to supply chain issues, warns an industry giant.
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Hospitality rate surge
Ian Wright, the chief executive of the Food and Drink Federation, has said inflation in the hospitality sector could rise by as much as 18 per cent.
Wright in conversation with the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy committee said:
In hospitality, which is a precursor of retail, inflation i s running between 14 percent and 18 percent. That is terrifying.
He added:
I remember inflation going to 27 percent under the Callaghan government in 1977, and I remember a lady going around Sainsburys with stickers twice in the same hour to change the prices. We cannot go back to that.
If the Prime Minister is—as I know he is—serious about levelling up, inflation is a bigger scourge than almost anything because it discriminates against the poor.
U.K. inflation rates peak
According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the inflation rates have peaked since 2012. In July, rates rose from 2 per cent, and in August to 3.2%. The Bank of England had set a target for a 2 per cent increase, whereas at this rate, there will be a 4 per cent increase by the end of the year.
Translating the above, it means that the hospitality sector will now face an increased rate of ingredients, which in turn will result in higher bills for customers.
According to Stephen Phipson, chief executive of trade body Make UK, manufacturers too are facing the brunt of inflation with an increase in prices of raw materials, by 40%.
Meanwhile, industry bosses have told MPs, that the truck driver shortage in the UK is 'not visibly getting better' and could take around a year to recover. The shortfall has occurred due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the fact that there are no young recruits.
