A UK environment minister warned that the Russian invasion of Ukraine will likely cause significant increases in food prices, including pork.
Victoria Prentis (Defra minister for agriculture) suggested that Britons might want to stop buying Russian white fish. This makes up around a third of the UK’s total consumption.
Prentis warned that the British would have to be more willing to pay higher prices for high-quality food made in Britain.
Speaking at the Launch of the Conservative Environment Networks Green Albion essay collectionShe said that she had been having important meetings with the fishing industry. For example, thirty percent of our white fish comes from Russia. Realize it, guys.
The Guardian was told by the minister that further sanctions were being looked at to impact the fishing industry. She suggested that consumers boycott Russian fish. She asked: Are we really going to be buying Russian fish at this time?
Prior to the invasion Prentis had been primarily focused on the cost-of-living crisis and the shift towards more environmentally friendly farming. Prentis implemented the Elms, which would have given subsidies to farmers to improve biodiversity on their farms.
But, she has been dealing with possible supply-chain disruptions as a consequence of the war. She stated that we are in the middle a most extraordinary series world events and she is going to reduce my optimism.
The minister stated that the European events could cause prices to rise by pointing out: Ive been speaking to the pig industry about a very, very difficult supply system at all levels. Are we willing to buy more British high welfare pigs? We will have to spend more.
She stated that environmental policies are still a priority but that we must ensure that the policy being made at each stage is appropriate to the stage they are on. The stage this week is quite different to the one we were on last week.
There are concerns about a global wheat crisis as Russia and Ukraine account respectively for 14% and 54% of global wheat production. Together, the countries account for almost 30% global wheat exports.
Prentis has been meeting with European counterparts to discuss these issues. She said that she was grateful that 88% of the wheat grown in her country is edible. I met the Albanian foreign Minister earlier this week. She imports 44% from Ukraine. We are fortunate in many ways.
Prentis is also fighting a battle against her Conservative colleagues who have criticized Elms. Some of her critics argue that farmers should receive more subsidies to produce food than they should for environmental goods.
Neil Parish, Conservative MP for the environment, stated recently that there is a concern about food security. He said: Ukraine is the breadbasket and western Russia is the breadbasket. I have been to Bryansk many times and the one thing I always wanted to bring home was the soil. I have never seen so beautiful soil in my entire life. It can grow everything.
We must protect the environment while we are changing agricultural policy. But we also need food. The Agriculture Act does not provide enough food.
Prentis spoke out about her critics, saying: I really feel like we have to stop seeing ourselves as either environmentalists or farmers and that there should be any kind of boundary between them.
It is quite irritating, frankly, that so many of you are onboard for this program and we are moving in one direction. But that we are having these absurd arguments about which bit. [of funding]Where is it in the program?
