The government must act now to ease the 'inevitable' inflation in food prices as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Food and Drink Federation has warned.
The stark warning was issued at the FDF's annual conference on Tuesday (22 March), as the war will have "serious ramifications for us all, across Europe and globally".
The body's chief executive, Karen Betts said in front of an audience at the National Gallery that “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has been a genuine geopolitical, energy and commodity shock.”
Ramifications in the UK include “rising costs, rising inflation and unpredictable supply chains”, which means food price rises are now “inevitable”.
Defra Secretary George Eustice, who made a speech at the conference, warned that the public faced an 8% increase in food prices this summer.
"I know that the Institute of Grocery Distribution have done a piece of work that assesses that food price inflation here in the UK could rise to 6%, possibly 8%, over the summer.
“But it's also the case that it's very volatile, and dynamic situation," he said.
The effects of the war are already being felt in the supply chain, with energy prices soaring while shortages of sunflower oil and wheat are causing huge spikes in global market prices.
These impacts are hitting the UK food and farming industry, which is only just starting to recover from the strains of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Karen Betts used her speech to call on the government to "act now" to ease the supply chain pressures on food and drink companies.
She called for more support to the millions of vulnerable households "already suffering from the mounting cost-of-living crisis".
Ministers must also "react quickly and with greater flexibility" for when ingredients become unavailable.
A National Food Security Council should also be established, Ms Betts said during her speech, to enable industry and Whitehall to "react in real time to supply chain impacts".
Government must urgently review all upcoming regulation to avoid unnecessary costs being placed on businesses and ultimately shoppers.
She said: “The UK government was once a beacon for the better regulation agenda – it should strive to be so again.”
