Tea time strikes as the cost of chips soars due to potato shortages and poor harvests

THE saying “Cheap as chips” may have come into its own as spud prices skyrocket.

Suppliers warn that they are suffering from shortages and poor harvests.

A chippy tea has already risen in price in recent years due to heavy harvests and rising frying costs oil and energy.

And potato companies have now warned that they will have to raise prices again.

PG Chips, which supplies fish and chip shops across the north, has written to customers saying it is a “dire situation”.

In 2022, potato farmers were struggling with heat waves and costs.

And last year’s soggy autumn left the fields full of rotten potatoes. Spud traders have tried to address the shortages by importing from abroad, but with little luck.

PG Chips said in its letter: “The continent’s potatoes are also very expensive for similar reasons to ours and by the time transport is added they will be a non-viable option.”

Company director Paul Graham told The Sun that the price of a kilo bag had risen from £10 to £25 and “some in the industry say they could reach £30 by June”.

Many potato farmers had cut back on crop production last year due to the rising costs of fertilizer and fuel.

He added: “The 2023 harvest was heavily affected by the amount of rain we had in September, October and November.”

Andrew Crook, chairman of the National Federation of Fish Friers, said they had “already suffered the biggest price rises since 1976” and were bracing for more.