Soaring prices put Britons off fish as cost of a fillet soars by a third

Rising prices have hurt consumer demand for seafood as large cuts to fishing quotas drive double-digit inflation, according to Hilton Foods.

The FTSE 250 food packaging giant, which partners with retailers like Tesco to supply their private-label products, told investors on Wednesday it was sourcing different species of fish and attempting ‘product reformulation’ in response to weaker demand.

UK food prices have been rising ahead of the overall rate of inflation, hitting 4.9 per cent in July and forecast by the Institute of Grocery Distribution to have hit 5.1 per cent in August.

This has been blamed on heatwaves, droughts and floods hitting crop yields in the UK and abroad, as well as global supply chain disruption.

However, minimum wage hikes and an increase in employer national insurance contributions earlier this year have pushed up the cost of labour for UK farmers and supermarket, inevitably leading to higher food prices at the till.

The most recent data from the Office for National Statistics on white fish fillet prices is only available up to January of this year, but the figures show a sharp increase in consumer costs over the last five years. 

A kilo of white fish fillet was £15.60 in September 2020, compared to £20.59 in January – an increase of around 32 per cent. 

Shoppers are paying more and more at the till this year as food inflation climbs 

Hilton Foods also highlighted quotas imposed on catching white fish, driven by stock health concerns.

Analysts at Shore Capital estimated Hilton saw a ‘material inflation in UK seafood’ of around 60 per cent during the first half of the year, leading to a ‘mid to high single digit decline’ in demand.

Hilton Foods said: ‘Softer UK seafood demand has been driven by quota cuts leading to significant raw material inflation.

‘We are responding with product reformulation and the introduction of alternative species alongside tactical inventory purchases to protect availability for the remainder of the year.’

A stronger performance within meat helped drive total UK and Ireland regional volumes just 0.2 per cent higher, but total revenues soared 12.4 per cent on a reported basis to £797.3million.

The group posted an overall statutory profit before tax of £24.3million, falling 5.3 per cent year on year as Hilton also suffered currency headwinds and disruption to smoked salmon shipments to the US via its Foppen business.

Hilton Foods boss Steve Murrells CBE said: ‘The first half of 2025 has been shaped by a strong performance in our retail meat and convenience businesses.

‘Whilst we have faced market-driven pressures and some specific operational challenges in seafood, we have responded with agility and continue to have a strong platform in place for future growth. I want to thank all our dedicated teams for their continued commitment.’

Hilton Foods shares plunged 12.3 per cent to 722p in early trading, meaning they have now lost a quarter of their value since the start of the year. 

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