Food prices could increase by as much as 10% if there is a disorderly Brexit, the governor of the Bank of England, Mark Carney, has warned.
Mark Carney told MPs on Tuesday (4 December) that in “the most extreme scenario” the public could expect the cost of their groceries to increase substantially after Brexit.
A smoother Brexit scenario with a planned transition period could still see the cost of food increasing by around 6%, Carney said.
He said a weaker pound sterling will raise the price of imported goods, along with any tariffs imposed and also from increased costs at the border.
“But what people will do if the price of something goes up more than something else, they will switch products,” he told Parliament’s Treasury committee.
He said “In the most extreme scenario, on average your shopping bill goes up by 10 per cent because we have a 25 per cent depreciation.”
“If you go to a more orderly scenario transition, it’s something in the range of 6 per cent,” he said, adding: “For individual food products it’s going to vary.”
Labour MP John Mann replied to Carney's analysis, saying his constituents were unlikely to go vegan if the cost of meat went up.
Carney replied: “We might buy a little more local lamb as opposed to imported veal.”
It comes as new Defra figures for 2017 shows Britain produced 60% of its own food, and this rate is in long-term decline.
Food self-sufficiency statistics have always been an important measure of the nation’s ability to feed itself.
