No 'light at end of tunnel', warns Edwin Poots amid record food price increases for meat, poultry, dairy

There is little “light at the end of the tunnel” with food prices rising at a record level, a former Stormont agriculture minister has warned.

Edwin Poots made the comment in an interview with the News Letter as new figures show food inflation soaring 12.4% to hit a new record.

The DUP MLA, who in his role as agriculture minister earlier this year warned of the dire consequences for farming following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, said the increased food prices in supermarkets reflect the increased costs faced by farmers.

He was speaking to the News Letter as new figures from the British Retail Consortium showed food inflation has accelerated considerably to 12.4% in November, up from October’s 11.6%.

The BRC-Nielsen IQ Shop Price Index shows the food price inflation is being driven particularly by the cost of meat, eggs and dairy.

In March, Mr Poots had told Stormont’s agriculture committee of his “grave concerns” that the poultry, pork and dairy industries in particular would suffer from the consequences of the war in Ukraine.

On Tuesday, he told the News Letter: "There’s two things really driving it. Number one is the cost of oil and gas, which everything in food relies upon - all of your transportation, your food production, your fertiliser which relies on oil and gas.

"That, coupled with a reduction in Ukrainian wheat, sunflower oil and so forth coming onto the market has had a really major impact on the sectors that are involved here."

He continued: "It already has had an impact. Consumers have seen the prices increase in the shops when they go in. The packages are smaller and the prices are smaller. That’s already being felt by the consumer. I don’t think that there’s much light at the end of the tunnel on this because the farm costs have not started to go down. There’s been a slight dip in oil prices of maybe 10-15% but that is still way above what they were, so until we get that significant reduction in oil prices which is then fed through for a period of about six months only then will you start to see some reflection of that in food prices levelling off and coming down."