Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps his Department is taking to help tackle the rising cost of fish; and what assessment he has made of the potential merits of relaxing the rules on fishing quarters to help increase supply and tackle the rising cost of fish.

Food prices are influenced by a range of factors - from currency fluctuations to commodity prices. The UK has a highly resilient and diverse food supply chain which has coped well in responding to unprecedented challenges – including sourcing a large amount of the fish we consume from countries such as Iceland and Norway. The majority of UK seafood consumption is imported, meaning prices on UK supermarket shelves are largely determined by international supply and demand.

It is not for the UK Government to set retail food prices nor to comment on day-to-day commercial decisions by the companies. Food prices fluctuate in any given year and are dependent on a combination of factors including agri-food import prices, domestic agricultural prices, exchange rates, domestic labour and manufacturing costs.

We will continue to speak with industry to understand and support them in coping with any potential pressures. We do not intend to amend fishing quotas because they are an important tool, based on scientific evidence, for managing sustainable fisheries.