Price of wheat to drive up shopping costs

paulwf

igaveupnowimback wrote: »

I'm wondering about alternatives to flour etc. I can already make bread / bake / use veggies and pulses etc. Can I use anything sensible to MAKE flour/substitutes?

I don't think there is a direct alternative but I suppose you could bulk out bread with other things (nuts, seeds) or use corn meal, potato flour, gram flour and that sort of thing. Off the top of my head though I think it will still be cheaper to just use flour.

There are meal alternatives e.g. rice or mash instead of pasta, I can't see myself giving up pasta though.

TBH for the "average" person the VAT rise is likely to have a larger effect on shopping basket. As I assume most OSers are cooking from scratch and having more zero rated food it probably won't have so much concern to people on this board.

nodwah

I believe we get most of our bread wheat from Canada, our home grown wheat does not contain enough gluten for our modern taste for fluffy light bread! ( that's what I learned in a project in school quite a while ago!)

Having said that if Russia normally supplies Eastern Europe etc that's a lot of countries that will be looking for more sources.

My husband's job is involved in the supply side of a very large international company which will be unnamed but they expect their wheat costs to go up 60% in the next 2 years (I think they buy a year or two ahead - I don't understand these things!)

Anyway I totally agree with Ceridwen about building on farmland- our house looks onto a field which is now being built on - green belt farmland supposedly but totally corrupt councillors taking backhanders soon puts paid to that eh?

Didn't we as a country find out during the war that it's better to be able to feed ourselves without relying on imports? The government has forgotten about food security.

The_Thrilla

Mrs_Bones wrote: »

Ok, maybe a silly question, but is this likely to affect gluten free products like the dove gluten free flour I buy?

Not a silly question. The answer to it is probably yes. Of the gluten free products, buckwheat will probably be affected, as will corn. Rice, potato and gram flour shouldn't be, but may be affected by people spilling over from wheat.

It will be more expensive to keep people in prison, what with the increase in the price of wheat flour, and the drought!

foxgloves

Yes, Nodwah.....agree. If we are heavily importing grain now, building on farmland & reducing the UK's ability to feed its population still further is just madness.....just feels like these big developers waft a wad of cash at a few councillors and it all gets waved straight through.

Reverbe

This concerns me as the only thing you cant stop doing is eating.. and I think I have cut back as far as I can on food due to cost without giving up the one meal a day I have...

gailey_2

paulwf wrote: »

I don't think there is a direct alternative but I suppose you could bulk out bread with other things (nuts, seeds) or use corn meal, potato flour, gram flour and that sort of thing. Off the top of my head though I think it will still be cheaper to just use flour.

There are meal alternatives e.g. rice or mash instead of pasta, I can't see myself giving up pasta though.

TBH for the "average" person the VAT rise is likely to have a larger effect on shopping basket. As I assume most OSers are cooking from scratch and having more zero rated food it probably won't have so much concern to people on this board.

Is wheat products subject to vat

I think ready made biscuits and cakes are
not sure of flour has vat
eggs-another staple of baking
cereals/pasta- are they subject to vat.

paulwf

gailey wrote: »

Is wheat products subject to vat

I think ready made biscuits and cakes are
not sure of flour has vat
eggs-another staple of baking
cereals/pasta- are they subject to vat.

VAT rules on food are an absolute nightmare, classic cases are pringles aren't classed as crisps so no vat and M&S teacakes which after 20 years changed from being classed as a chocolate biscuit to a cake resulting in going from vat rated to non vat.

Cereal bars are rated but cereal isn't. I doubt flour, pasta and eggs are as they are classed as essentials, only those items classed as luxuries are rated. Basically if you buy ingredients and cook from scratch a majority of items will be zero rated.

If you shop at Morrisons each item has it's VAT status indicated which is probably the best guide if you happen to shop there.

newgran_2

Just read through this thread and wanted to add lidl also show what VAT has been paid on.:)