UK's Chicken King Says 20-Year Binge On Cheap Food Is Over

Britain's 20-year binge on cheap food is coming to an end and food price inflation could hit double digits due to a tidal wave of soaring costs that are crashing through the supply chain, Britain’s biggest chicken producer has warned, Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Macaskill reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: "Chicken King" Ranjit Singh Boparan, owner of the 2 Sisters Group

As it emerges from the twin crises of Brexit and COVID, the world's fifth-largest economy is facing an acute shortage of truckers, butchers, and warehouse workers that has exacerbated global supply chain strains.

"The days when you could feed a family of four with a 3 pound ($4) chicken are coming to an end," Ranjit Singh Boparan, owner of the 2 Sisters Group and known as the "Chicken King" said in a statement.

"In relative terms, a chicken today is cheaper to buy than it was 20 years ago. How can it be right that a whole chicken costs less than a pint of beer? You’re looking at a different world from now on where the shopper pays more."

Boparan, who produces around a third of all poultry products consumed in the United Kingdom, said he didn't think the British government could fix all the problems or control inflation.

He said the constriction of labor supply would lead to wage inflation and that he would invest in automation. "Less labor means less choice, core ranges, empty shelves, and wage inflation, and this isn’t going to change," he said.

"Right now I need to be honest about what this means for the consumer as inflation could reach double digits.” Boparan outlined a cost tsunami: feed costs, supplements, veterinary costs, and wages have risen 15-20%; an acute trucker shortage; energy and carbon dioxide costs rising more than 500% from last year; and packaging up 20% in six months.

Boparan’s 2 Sisters, founded in 1993, sells poultry, pizza, and pies. It processes 10.4 million birds a week and owns more than 700 farms.

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