Potato shortage to push up price of humble pub chip

While most hotels and pubs have been absorbing potato price increases, they are now expected to pass on the cost to diners — or offer sweet potatoes instead. Poll: What’s your choice of chips?

Sweet potatoes could replace the traditional side of fries with pub meals as spud prices rocket. Pictures: News Corp/iStock

Hot chips down at the local pub could soon hurt the hip-pocket – or replaced with yams – as a nationwide potato shortage starts to bite.

Floods and fires, together with international shortages and transport issues have wreaked havoc on Australian supply chains, with many suppliers increasing costs over the past four months.

While most hotels have been absorbing the price increases, diners may soon have to share the pain with the Australian Hotels Association (AHA) estimating it will cost larger pub chains up to half a million dollars in the coming year.

AHA national president David Canny said pub owners will have to decide whether to keep covering the increased costs, put up menu prices or find alternatives.

“Almost every pub classic involves a side of potato – be it steak and chips, bangers and mash, burger and chips, parma (or parmie) and chips, potato cakes, fish and chips – the list goes on,” he said.

Food and beverage staff, from left, Phoebe Copland, Krishay Kumar and Tamsin Buchananat from The Fiddler in Rouse Hill serve up some pub lunches with fries. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

“The increase in the price of potatoes puts more financial pressure on pubs already facing increased costs including power, beer excise, drinks over the bar, transport and staff.

“Already, in the lead up to Christmas venues are being warned to start using other vegies with meals instead of the traditional chip, or, of course, there’s always the healthy salad option for pub-goers.”

Food suppliers Red Funnel Food Service Distributers director George Sofianos said it had been a difficult year for potato crops in Victoria where a large portion of Australian potatoes were grown.

“International supply has also been impacted by drought – the other problem here in Australia is a delay in planting also caused by bad weather in Victoria,” he said.

The combination of factors had led to a 30-40 per cent increase in the cost to suppliers.

With virtually no margins on potato products, suppliers had struggled not to pass on the expense on to hoteliers.

Lewis Leisure, which has hotels in Queensland and NSW – including The Fiddler at Rouse Hill – also estimated it would cost the business around half a million dollars should it keep covering the price increases.

“We use around 200,000 kilograms of chips per year across our four venues so we could be looking at an additional half a million dollars in costs over a year,” said Lewis Leisure head Brad Jenkins.

“At the moment we’re hoping it will be a three-to-six-month shortage and during that time we’ll absorb the cost so it doesn’t impact patrons – after that we may have to consider raising our prices.”

Over at the 4 Pines Brewing Company, customers may have noticed a few less chips with their burgers and steaks with chefs already reducing portion sizes.

4 Pines hospitality operations manager Tarek Ibrahim said potato prices had not only tripled, but it was also difficult to obtain enough to meet the demand.

“I will order 10 boxes but only get two,” he said.

“Very soon people will order fish and chips, and not get the chips. We’ve ever so slightly reduced portion sizes, but we may have to soon put up signs to explain why if we reduce them further.

“We’ve always been extremely generous with chips as potatoes were always so cheap, but now they’re almost as expensive as the protein.”

The shortage has also forced Coles to this week introduce a two bag frozen chip limit on customers.