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Poor harvest forces chip price up
THE traditional Friday fried feast could have had its chips!
THE traditional Friday fried feast could have had its chips!Soaring prices of fish coupled with a hike in the price of potatoes could see traditional fish and chip prices rising.
The bad news on chips comes after one of the UK's biggest potato users McCain announced they would be closing their Whittlesey plant for a fortnight in the summer – rather than a week.
The company said the summer shutdown was due to problems with potato quality due to last summer's unusual weather conditions.
A McCain's spokesman said the super-hot months of June and July, followed by record rainfall in August, stunted the growth of many potatoes planted in the fields around Peterborough.
They said staff salaries and jobs would not be affected by the temporary closure.
Meanwhile, city chippies said the price of a bag of spuds had been rising steadily in recent months.
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Parvez Akhtar, who runs The Golden Cod, in Crawthorne Road, said: "We're trying to keep prices as low as possible. it's no one's fault that the potato crop has been so bad, but we've definitely felt the effects. I used to pay 5 per bag – that's gone up to 8."
Dale Archer, of Bluebell Plaice, in Bluebell Avenue, Dogsthorpe, said he hoped the potato problem would be short-term.
He said: "I'm paying almost double the amount for potatoes compared with June last year, but you have to pay if you want good quality.
"The trade is relatively quiet at this time of year, but nonethe -less we have been penny pinching to keep costs down."
Potato grower John Wortley, from Crowland Fresh Produce Ltd, said the weather had made a big difference to the crop.
Mr Wortley, who grows 5,000 tonnes of potatos a year, said: "Because of the dry weather last summer, many farmers' crops were lighter than anticipated, which created a world shortage.
"When the rain finally came, the potatoes started to grow again, but they were very immature and were not frying properly. Many people ended up with white and dark brown chips."
Mr Wortley said that since the shortage, the prices of potatos had gone up considerably.
"They used to be about 120 for a tonne, but now we charge about 240 for a tonne."
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Weather for Peterborough
Saturday 26 May 2012
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