Get you up to speed: UK cabinet minister warns of prolonged price rises following Iran conflict
The conflict in the Middle East is expected to disrupt global supplies of natural gas and carbon dioxide (CO2). The Ensus bioethanol plant in Teeside, which produces CO2 as a by-product, is projected to provide sufficient supply to avoid disruption in Britain.
According to Darren Jones, a cabinet minister, British consumers could experience increased food prices for over eight months following the resolution of the war in Iran due to ‘price pressures’ in various sectors. The Ensus bioethanol plant in Teeside is expected to generate enough carbon dioxide to maintain Britain’s supply without disruption, according to the facility’s statement.
Sir Keir Starmer is scheduled to chair a cabinet committee meeting to discuss the effects of the war in Iran and strategies to address possible supply chain disruptions. The Ensus bioethanol plant in Teeside is expected to reactivate, generating enough CO2 to maintain Britain’s supply.
This is how long UK price hike from Iran war is going to last | News World
London, Britain, 16 April 2026. British consumers could face some shortages of chicken, pork, and fizzy drinks on supermarket shelves this summer if the Strait of Hormuz does not reopen due to the US-Israel-Iran conflict, which could lead to shortages of the carbon dioxide (CO2) required by the food industry. EPA/TOLGA AKMEN” decoding=”sync”/>
Consumers could see an increase in food prices for months after the end of the war in Iran, a cabinet minister has warned (Picture: EPA)
Brits could bear the brunt of higher prices for more than eight months after the war in Iran has abated, a cabinet minister has said.
Darren Jones said the country should be braced for ‘price pressures’ in several sectors including food, fuel and travel.
He told the BBC’s Laura Kuenssberg the government was working to mitigate the impacts of the conflict, as the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has choked the global supply of natural gas.
Sir Keir Starmer is due to chair a cabinet committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss the effects of the war and how to deal with possible disruption to supply chains.
Government officials drew up plans for a ‘worse case scenario’ earlier this month, in the event food shortages hit by the summer.
Jones said consumers needed to be prepared for a further hike in prices as a result of ‘what Trump has done in the Middle East’.
The Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister said ministers were looking into ‘a lot of detail’ at the potential economic impact of the conflict, including on the cost of jet fuel, diesel and carbon dioxide.
He said: ‘There is no denying there is going to be an economic impact as a result of what’s happening in the Middle East.
‘You’re going to see prices go up a bit as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East, and quite frankly that’s probably going to come online not just in the next few weeks but the next few months.
‘There’s going to be a long tail from this.’
The conflict in the Middle East threatens to disrupt global supplies of natural gas as well as other chemicals and CO2 (Picture: AFP)
Pushed by Kuenssberg as to how long the disruption could last, Mr Jones said it would depend on whether a deal could be struck between Washington and Tehran.
But he added: ‘I think our best guess is eight plus months from the point of resolution that you’ll see economic impacts coming through the system.
‘People will see higher energy prices, food prices, flight ticket prices as a consequence of what Donald Trump has done in the Middle East.’
One essential resource which could come under strain is CO2, which is routinely used in the slaughtering industry as well as to preserve food.
Among measures to buffer the potential shock is government funding to reactivate the Ensus bioethanol plant in Teeside, which makes CO2 as a by-product.
The facility told the BBC in a statement it expects to generate enough of the gas to keep Britain’s supply undisrupted.
The cost of meat could rise within months in the event of a protracted conflict, a union boss has warned (Picture: EPA)
CO2 is also crucial for preventing beer taps from running dry during this summer’s World Cup.
Mr Jones said the issue had been flagged and that the government was ‘doing everything’ to keep pubs stocked for the tournament.
In terms of food, among the first items consumers may notice go up in price are tomatoes and cucumbers, a union boss warned last month.
This is because those crops all rely on greenhouse production in the UK, Tom Bradshaw, president of the National Farmers’ Union (NFU) explained.
He added that price hikes would follow in milk and meat within ‘three to six months’.
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