Sino-Singapore Jingwei Yan Shuxin
"When we went to the department store for a walk, we could clearly feel that there were a lot fewer people, and many people would not buy if they could not buy it." Talking about the recent inflation in the United Kingdom, the chairman of the British Tianjin Chamber of Commerce and the British Eurasian Business Company Guo Kunzhang, managing director, told Sino-Singapore Jingwei.
Affected by the Russian-Ukrainian conflict and other factors, the prices of energy and food in the UK have risen sharply in the past few months, and the inflation level has repeatedly hit new highs.
The UK consumer price index (CPI) rose 9% in April from a year earlier, the highest in nearly 40 years, according to the Office for National Statistics.
Sino-Singapore Jingwei learned from a number of Chinese businessmen in the UK that soaring prices have put pressure on the daily life of the British people, coupled with the increase in labor costs, some businesses have also encountered difficulties in their operations.
Gas and electricity prices have risen sharply, and it costs half of the car to fill up a tank of gas
Speaking of the recent sharp rise in oil prices, Guo Kunzhang, who lives in London, feels deeply.
Guo Kunzhang is engaged in tourism-related work in the UK, and rising oil prices have significantly increased operating costs.
Guo Kunzhang's car is a diesel car. "Last week I went to refuel, and it cost more than 100 pounds to fill up. In the past, I rarely added more than 70 pounds for a tank."
Photo courtesy of a respondent at a petrol station in the UK
According to the British "Daily Telegraph" report, on June 7, the price of petrol in the United Kingdom increased by 2p per liter, the largest one-day increase in the past 17 years.
It also brings the cost of filling a cylinder to £99.40 for a standard UK family car, approaching the £100 mark for the first time.
In fact, in addition to gasoline and diesel, domestic energy sources such as gas and electricity have recently risen sharply.
"Utilities and gas bills in the UK are usually paid every three months. When I paid the bills in November last year, the total cost of gas and electricity in my house was 220 pounds. When I paid the bills in May this year, my family's bill was as high as 390 pounds." Guo Kunzhang said that according to official statistics, the price of gas and electricity in the UK has risen by 54% compared with previous years.
Zhang Qijun, director of the Chinese High-tech Business Association in the UK, mentioned that in Manchester, the current expenditure on gas and electricity per household in Manchester is at least 50% higher than in previous years, so that the local government has to subsidize it. 150 pounds, this is the first time I have seen the government subsidize household energy consumption in the past 30 years since I came to the UK, but it is far from worth the price increase. The relevant departments expect that household energy prices will further increase sharply after this autumn. "
Research has shown that soaring inflation will add nearly £2,400 (about 20,000 yuan) to the average British household's bill in 2022.
Rice, flour, grain and oil are rising, and edible oil has nearly doubled
Not only energy, but also food prices such as rice, flour, grain and oil are also rising, and some commodities are even out of stock at one point.
Lin Jianbang, chairman of the British Chinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, is engaged in the catering business in Birmingham, UK.
He told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that local prices have risen sharply in recent months, including rice, flour, grain and oil, and the price of some commodities has risen by more than 30%.
Edible oil sold in a British supermarket.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
Zhang Qijun also introduced to Sino-Singapore Jingwei that the same edible oil, "before the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, it cost 1.09 pounds to buy a bottle, and now it has risen to 1.99 pounds, which has nearly doubled."
Lin Jianbang told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that in addition to rising prices, many supermarkets in the UK have also imposed restrictions on the purchase of edible oil, and ordinary consumers can only buy up to 3 bottles per person at a time.
According to Lin Jianbang, British edible oil mainly relies on imports.
Affected by the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, the price of edible oil in the UK began to rise, and local people rushed to buy it, and supermarkets had to take measures to limit purchases.
A supermarket in the UK has imposed restrictions on the purchase of edible oil.
Photo courtesy of the interviewee
According to data, UK sunflower oil sales account for 44% of edible oil sales, and most of the sunflower oil sold in the UK comes from Ukraine.
Guo Kunzhang told Sino-Singapore Jingwei that at present, in London, most of the food in supermarkets has increased in price, and the increase is basically more than 20%.
"In the local Tesco supermarket, lamb shanks used to be around £5-7 a kilo, but now it's doubled to £13 a kilo."
Guo Kunzhang said that the continuous rise in prices has lowered the living standards and quality of life of the local people, and many people are reducing expenditures as much as possible.
"When we went to the department store for a walk, we could clearly feel that there were a lot fewer people, and many people would not buy if they could."
According to media reports, a survey found that in order to save the cost of living, more Britons tend to buy discounted goods, cut back on fish, meat and wine, drive less to save petrol, cancel all kinds of streaming media and appliance warranty. .
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said British shoppers continued to cut back on spending in May as inflation soared, with retail sales falling 1.1% in May from a year earlier, the biggest drop since January 2021.
Cost pressures force restaurants to raise prices
In Guo Kunzhang's view, the current British commodity market has problems such as unsmooth logistics, tight supply chains, and "labor shortages", which have led to a sharp rise in prices.
"Before Brexit, most of the workers in labor-intensive and low-skilled industries came from Eastern European countries, etc. Now many of these workers have returned to their own countries. When labor is in short supply, labor costs will increase, and this part of the cost will eventually be transmitted to D."
The problem of "labor shortage" has also affected local Chinese businessmen.
"There are many Chinese businessmen opening restaurants and supermarkets in the UK. Now it is obvious that these two industries have a large turnover of personnel and labor shortages. This has become one of the main topics discussed at local Chinese and Chinese businessmen's dinner parties. Everyone is trying to find ways to recruit workers. "Guo Kunzhang said.
Today, the sharp rise in the prices of gas, electricity, rice, flour, grain and oil has undoubtedly increased the operating costs of the local catering industry.
In order to ease the cost pressure, Lin Jianbang had to raise the prices of restaurant dishes slightly, but only a little.
"I don't dare to go up too much, I'm afraid that if it goes up too much, there will be no business." Lin Jianbang said.
The soaring inflation also makes Zhang Qijun feel that the difficulty of corporate financing is increasing.
Zhang Qijun runs a biomedical enterprise in Manchester, which is a research and development enterprise.
"It's getting harder and harder to get investment now, and the competition for some projects is getting fiercer," Zhang Qijun said.
According to foreign media reports, in order to control rising prices, Bank of England officials raised interest rates to 1%, the highest level in 13 years.
Bank of England officials are even more expected, the UK inflation rate is expected to reach 10.25% in the autumn.
"Now I feel that the quality of life of the British people is declining, and the economy is very sluggish. It is expected to be more difficult next year." Zhang Qijun said.
The Russian-Ukrainian conflict pushed up raw material and commodity prices, exacerbated supply disruptions, and the Bank of England raised its inflation forecast and lowered its economic growth forecast, the report said.
The UK economy is set to slow sharply by the end of 2022 and is likely to slip into recession next year and shrink by 0.25%.
Zhang Qijun said frankly that not only the United Kingdom, but the whole world is facing the same situation, "The entire business operation has not fully recovered from the epidemic, the logistics is not smooth, the economic cycle is not smooth, the supply chain is tense, coupled with the impact of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, the global Recession is certain, inflation is just an appearance." (Sino-Singapore Jingwei APP)
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