Fish and chips costs nearly double since 2019
The price of fish and chips has nearly doubled since 2019 as chips struggle with the rising cost of cod.
Customers paid an average of £11.17 for the popular takeaway in March this year, up from £10.28 a year ago, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This is up sharply from 2019, when the average price was £6.48.
This comes as the cost of haddock and cod has risen dramatically amid wars in Ukraine and Iran. Figures from the ONS show the average cost of fresh and chilled cod, haddock, hake and pollock has increased by 22 per cent, from £21.06 last year to £25.73 this year.
A 20kg (45lb) tin of cod priced at £110 in December 2024 was £330 in March, store owners reported in March; This means an increase of 200 percent.
Energy costs have also risen rapidly since the start of the war in Iran, with the cost of oil reaching its highest level since 2022 in late April.
Shopkeepers have previously warned that “people’s mentality needs to change” as chippy’s seek cheaper alternatives to cod and haddock to stay in business.
Andrew Arnold, who runs Railway Street Fisheries in Pocklington, near York, told the BBC he believed customers would start to see more alternatives on the menu, including Norwegian fish.
“If we don’t diversify and do different things, the traditional fish and chip shop will disappear,” he said.
“I could sell Pollock for £10.50 and still make a decent profit on it.”
In April, customers were urged to stop eating UK-caught cod after environmentalists warned of a worrying population decline. The Marine Conservation Society downgraded all cod caught in British waters to the worst possible rating, saying the population was at “dangerously low levels” and “there are no plans in place to help it recover”.
Cod populations have been in decline since 2015, largely due to overfishing, but are also being made worse by rising sea temperatures.
In September 2025, scientists warned that fishermen must catch fewer cod in British waters to protect the species.
The International Council for Marine Research (ICES), an independent Denmark-based organization that advises the government on the management of fish stocks, found that cod populations in almost all of Britain’s waters are so depleted that none must be caught next year if the species is to recover.
