Foodservice price inflation stands at 0.5% for February
Oils and Fats is again leading the categories in terms of inflation at 16.5%.
It remains very unclear whether price increases are likely to ease as the Chinese government puts American soybeans firmly in their sights, potentially helping European prices. Brazil has also seen recent dry weather that has caused soybean output forecasts to be decreased for the coming year.
Fish continues to exhibit the most extreme variation of any category, having now moved from 9.8% year on year inflation the months ago to -4.2% this month. This is in notable contrast to salmon prices which have seen a sharp increase over the last few weeks due to supply issues in Norway and the increased demand that occurs around Easter.
British fishing has also been in the spotlight thanks to the recent transition bill that will see the quota system of the CFP remain in place until at least 2021. Whilst this has brought some certainty to the industry, it is perhaps the worst resolution to the issue with fishermen angry that they are still subject to European quotas at all, and those who wished to remain in the Common fisheries policy (CFP) annoyed that the UK has given up the right to attend the council of fisheries ministers in what seems like a token attempt to please fishermen.
