A 12kg box of dried apricots cost £35 a year ago. Today, the same box costs £100 — a near-tripling of the price. That’s what John Mitchell, who runs a cheesemonger in Manchester, told BBC News. He’s been in the trade for 20 years and says he’s never seen anything like it. “I’m buying cheese for £12 a kilo now. Before, it was £6.50,” he said. “There’s no way I can sell it at a price customers will pay and still make a profit.” Mitchell closed his shop’s doors last week after 15 years in business. He’s not alone. Traders across the UK report the same story: prices are climbing so fast they can’t keep up, and many are shutting down for good.

Food inflation hits small businesses hardest

The British Retail Consortium says food prices rose 19.1% in the year to June 2023, the fastest rate since records began. But for small traders, the pain is even sharper. Sarah Thompson, who owns a corner shop in Bristol, says her wholesale bills for basics like pasta and tinned tomatoes have doubled. “I used to buy a 10kg bag of pasta for £8. Now it’s £18. I can’t just absorb that,” she said. “My customers are already struggling. If I put my prices up, they’ll go elsewhere.” Thompson has cut her order sizes in half to save cash, but that means running out of stock more often. She’s had to turn away regulars who can’t find what they need.

Supply chains are snapping under pressure

The problem isn’t just UK inflation. Global supply chains are still tangled from years of pandemic disruptions, the war in Ukraine, and extreme weather. Dried apricots mostly come from Turkey and Central Asia. The cost of shipping a 40-foot container from Istanbul to Felixstowe has nearly doubled since 2020. Then there’s the energy crisis. UK wholesale gas prices spiked 300% last winter, and food producers are feeling it. A bakery in Leeds shut down last month after its energy bill jumped from £2,500 a month to £9,000. Owner David Clark said he couldn’t pass the cost on without losing every customer.

Traders are getting creative — or giving up

Some small businesses are trying to survive by changing how they operate. The Grocery Trader Association says 12% of its members have switched to smaller, more frequent deliveries to reduce storage costs. Others are cutting product lines entirely. A greengrocer in Birmingham told the BBC he now only stocks apples and potatoes because everything else is too expensive. “I used to have 30 different fruits and veg. Now I’ve got two,” he said. “It’s not what customers want, but it’s what I can afford.” But not everyone can adapt. The Federation of Small Businesses estimates 3,000 shops closed in the first half of 2023, many because of rising costs. That’s a 20% jump from the same period last year.

What happens next?

The Bank of England expects inflation to stay above 5% until mid-2024. For traders, that means no relief in sight. Mitchell, the Manchester cheesemonger, is now looking for a job. Thompson, the Bristol shop owner, is praying for a miracle. Clark, the Leeds baker, is considering a move to Ireland where energy costs are lower. But for now, the vicious circle keeps spinning: higher prices mean fewer sales, which means less cash to buy stock, which means even higher prices. Until that changes, more shops will close, and more communities will lose their local stores.

What You Need to Know

  • Source: BBC News
  • Published: May 17, 2026 at 09:49 UTC
  • Category: Business
  • Topics: #bbc · #business · #economy · #dried · #uk-food-inflation-2023 · #small-business-closures-uk

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Curated by GlobalBR News · May 17, 2026

🇧🇷 Resumo em Português

Os pequenos comerciantes britânicos estão fechando as portas em massa diante de um aumento de 200% nos preços dos alimentos em apenas um ano, um cenário que lembra os piores momentos da inflação no Brasil dos anos 1990. No Reino Unido, itens como damascos secos saltaram de £35 para £100 por caixa, enquanto outros produtos básicos seguem em trajetória ascendente sem perspectiva de alívio, obrigando famílias e pequenos negócios a se adaptarem a uma realidade de recessão silenciosa.

No Brasil, onde a memória da hiperinflação ainda assombra, o fenômeno ressoa como um alerta sobre os riscos de políticas econômicas descontroladas e dependência excessiva de importações. Embora o país tenha avançado em autossuficiência alimentar nas últimas décadas, a crise no Reino Unido serve como espelho para as vulnerabilidades do comércio local, especialmente em setores que dependem de cadeias globais de suprimento. Para os leitores brasileiros, a situação reforça a importância de diversificar a produção nacional e fortalecer reservas estratégicas, evitando surpresas semelhantes.

A pergunta que fica é: até quando os pequenos produtores e comerciantes brasileiros conseguirão absorver esses choques sem repassar integralmente os custos aos consumidores?

🇪🇸 Resumen en Español

El aumento descontrolado de los precios de los alimentos en Reino Unido, con subidas superiores al 200% en solo un año, está llevando al cierre masivo de pequeños comercios, que ya no pueden absorber el impacto en sus márgenes.

La escalada de costes, agravada por factores como la inflación global, los cuellos de botella en las cadenas de suministro y el encarecimiento de la energía, amenaza con dejar sin opciones a los consumidores más vulnerables en un país donde la cesta básica ya roza máximos históricos. Para los hispanohablantes, este escenario sirve como advertencia sobre los riesgos de la dependencia energética y la fragilidad de las economías ante crisis externas, recordando que la volatilidad en los mercados puede tener consecuencias inmediatas en el bolsillo de las familias.