Hundreds of curry houses ‘may not survive’ huge £16,000 hike in fuel and ingredients

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Monthly electricity bills for the UK’s 8,000 Indian restaurants have risen by £640 to £960, from £400 to £600 last year, according to trade magazine Spice

Daraz Aziz

Hundreds of curry houses may not survive a £16,000-a-year rise in fuel and ingredient prices.

Thousands of jobs and Britain’s favorite dish, tikka masala, are at risk, an expert warns.

Monthly electricity bills for the UK’s 8,000 Indian restaurants have risen by £640 to £960, from £400 to £600 last year, according to trade magazine Spice.

Still, restaurant and takeaway owners facing severe financial pressure fear charging more could hurt business.

Mango chutney has soared 39% in recent months, from 95p to £1.32 a kilo. Restaurants use 80 kg per month.

A kilo of fresh chicken breast goes from £2.90 to £3.80, a 25kg bag of onions £8.75 from £7.75 and cardamom £32 a kilo from £25 .

The Valley Indian Restaurant in Corbridge
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Picture:

Newcastle Chronicle)

Industry figures want more government help, like VAT and municipal tax cuts and corporate rate relief. Enam Ali, founder of Spice Business and the British Curry Awards, said: “These cost increases are unsustainable.

“After years of pain caused by a lack of qualified chefs and the Covid crisis, the curry industry is now being hit by cost increases in everything from gas to cardamom, from vegetable oil to mango chutney .

“Unless costs are brought under control, several hundred curry restaurants will go bankrupt, thousands of jobs will be lost.

“Britain’s great tikka masala – the country’s favorite dish – is under threat like never before.”

Baabzi Miah’s family has been running takeaways and restaurants for 50 years

Baabzi Miah, whose family have run takeaways and restaurants in Warwick for 50 years, said some monthly gas bills were up to £1,000 and without government action he would have to ‘lock the doors “. Daraz Aziz, pictured, runs three curry restaurants in Northumberland and the Passage to India railway dining experience, which takes diners from Newcastle to The Valley restaurant in Corbridge.

He said he was unwilling to pass on price increases to customers and did not want to rely on more subsidies or temporary solutions. He said: “Businesses cannot sustain themselves on government grants. They have to do something in the mechanism. The International Chamber of Commerce said trade should be simpler, cheaper and faster for curry restaurants.

A Treasury spokesperson said: ‘We have supported hospitality jobs and businesses during the pandemic.