Rising costs could make our favourite takeaway unaffordable

The cost of fish and chips could be about to rise to £10.

It’s one of our favourite takeaways, but rising prices and the war in Ukraine are making it more expensive.

More than 30 per cent of the white fish we eat comes from Russia. We’ll have to find other sources for this fish, and in the meantime prices are going to rise.

It’s not just the fish. Russia and Ukraine produce a quarter of the world’s wheat, which chip shops use for their batter and breadcrumbs.

The price of wheat has gone up by 50 per cent since the war started.

In other bad news for fish and chips, most of the world’s sunflower oil comes from Ukraine.

And potatoes are expected to go up in price by up to 30 per cent.

Frying high

At the moment, the average price of takeaway fish and chips is between £7.50 and £9.50. So a jump to more than £10 will hit us in the pocket, especially if we’re treating a big family.

Some chip shops have already said they’re worried about going out of business.

But if we’re handy in the kitchen we could try a ‘fakeaway’. Quids in! favourite Lorna Cooper has this recipe for beer-battered fish.

And we don’t have to fork out for cod or haddock. Pollock is a similar fish and is often cheaper to buy.

But if nothing can beat the real thing, food waste apps like Too Good To Go could help.

The apps match surplus food with customers. We don’t know exactly what we’ll get until we pick up the bag from the restaurant or takeaway, but we’ll pay just a fraction of what it would normally cost.

There are loads more recipes for fish and others dishes – including fakeaways – on the Quids in! website.

Photo: Daria Shevtsova / Pexels