Pay more for UK pork, boycott Russian white fish, says Defra minister

Britons will have to become more willing to pay premium prices for quality food produced domestically, a UK environment minister said on Friday (4), along with a warning that the price of pork is likely to rise significantly as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Victoria Prentis, the Defra minister responsible for farming, also suggested Britons may want to stop buying Russian white fish, which makes up about a third of the volume consumed in the UK, The Guardian reported.

Prentis was speaking at the launch of the Conservative Environment Network’s Green Albion essay collection when she revealed that 30 percent of white fish is imported from Russia. 

“For now, do we really want to be buying Russian fish?”, the minister said, suggesting consumers boycott the Russian fish.

Prentis claimed she found herself dealing with potential supply-chain failures as a result of the war. Prior to the conflict, Prentis had been mostly focused on the cost of living crisis as well as the shift to more environmentally friendly farming.

 “I am going to dial down the optimism because we are in the middle of the most extraordinary series of world events,” she said.

“I’ve been talking to the pig industry – a very, very difficult supply chain at all levels – are we prepared to buy more British high-welfare pigs? We will have to pay more.”

She said that while environmental policies were still a priority, “we need to make sure that the policy we’re making at every stage is correct to the stage we’re in. And frankly the stage for this week is completely different from the stage we were in last week.”

There are fears of a wheat crisis on the continent, as Russia and Ukraine account for 14 percent of global wheat production, ranking first and fifth, respectively. The countries together account for nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports.

Prentis’ warning comes days after the Food and Drink Federation warned of disruption in food supply due to the war.

“We anticipate that some food and drink companies will experience supply chain disruption as a result of the war in Ukraine, given that commodities, such as grain and sunflower oil, as well as other inputs, including packaging, could be affected. We will work through these as efficiently as possible, but – with manufacturers also exposed to further rises in energy prices – this could well add to current inflation,” FDF’s Chief Executive Karen Betts said this week.