Owner of the 2 Sisters Food Group, Ranjit Singh Boparan, has said that the Autumn Budget has served up an “unexpected double whammy bombshell” for businesses that risks driving food inflation further.
He said it would also deliver a potential “final fatal blow” for the UK farming sector, explaining that this would “force many farms out of business, restrict supply and increase costs”. Boparan also said it did not align with the Labour Government’s “aspiration to adopt policies to ensure food security in the UK”.
Boparan stated: “This Budget was a disaster for business and will deliver a final fatal blow to the thousands of small family-owned farms we in the food manufacturing sector rely upon day in, day out. They provide security of supply. This move will create food inflation and food insecurity. It will mean less people investing in food production in the UK.
“Farmers have been hit with massive inflationary rise in costs in recent years like feed, energy, labour, then we had a couple of particularly challenging years with high levels of Avian Influenza and the war in Ukraine. This instability in the supply chain means we’re always vulnerable to geo-political events.”
“This Budget has done very little to encourage business owners to invest and build.”
Boparan continued: “All this has pushed British poultry to breaking point, and I see this latest inheritance tax rise as the issue that will push thousands of farms over the edge, it really is quite unbelievable given what they’ve had to endure.
“This makes a mockery of the Government claiming to want a self-sustaining farming sector that champions British-made food. This tax rise does the exact opposite of that – it kills the sector, stifles supply and ultimately prices will rise.”
Boparan suggested the Budget’s impact on private, family-run companies - including his own portfolio of businesses - would cost “many tens of millions”, which would be passed onto customers.
He added: “The retailer sector has already quoted it will cost £1 billion and in truth our sector won’t be much behind that. £2 billion on-cost is going to cause food inflation, all the while we’ve been spending all our time trying to bring inflation down.
“This Budget has done very little to encourage business owners to invest and build. Some businesses will find these changes a burden and it makes it more difficult to keep running smoothly and maintain value.
“Privately-owned businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and take a different view on long-term investment. All this budget package does is reduce confidence and increases the chances of closures or selling to Private Equity for example, which invariably generates less tax.”
