The UK fish and chip industry is confident the sector can make it through the worst of the latest nationwide lockdown imposed by governments across the United Kingdom.

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The sector showed remarkable resilience over the past year and creativity in keeping staff and diners safe, and the measures shops have already taken have prepared it for the closure, Andrew Crook president of the National Fish Fryers Federation told IntraFish.

Still, the industry is reiterating calls reductions in for value-added tax (VAT) rates to stay in place until at least the end of 2021 to help businesses stay afloat as they battle the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A VAT cut from 20 percent to 5 percent was earlier extended to March 31 by UK finance minister Rishi Sunak.

UK's phenomenal fish & chips sector
  • There are currently some 10,500 fish and chip shops in the United Kingdom. That dramatically outnumbers fast-food outlets, including McDonald's and Kentucky Fried Chicken.
  • British consumers eat some 382 million meals from fish and chip shops every year, including 167 million of just fish and chips.
  • Annual spend on fish and chips in the United Kingdom is in the region of £1.2 billion ($1.4 billion)
  • 80 percent of people visit fish and chip shops at least once a year, and 22 percent visit fish and chips shops every week

Source: National Federation of Fish Fryers

The UK's 10,500 fish and chip shops -- a critical driver of consumption for Atlantic cod and haddock across the country -- staged a remarkable comeback after an estimated 80 percent of shop owners flipped their window signs to "closed" when the country first went into lockdown in March last year.

Shops implemented a string of innovative measures, including working back-to-back in kitchens, the installation of screens between workers and customers, the creation of separate click-and-collect lines outside shops, and the establishment of click-and-collect points inside.

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Contactless payments, machines that can take cash and scheduled pick up times have also helped to smooth operations, while some fish and chip businesses have invested in pager services that allow customers to wait outside in their vehicles while food is prepared.

"Most shops will just carry on going now," Crook said.

Some, though, are expected to struggle.

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While the government has allocated funds to businesses forced to close by the pandemic, this neither covers fish and chip shops located in coastal towns deserted during the winter nor urban centers abandoned by normal customers stuck at home under lockdown restrictions.

On Monday as part of efforts to protect the National Health Service (NHS), which even in normal times comes under particular strain during the colder winter months, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson issued the instruction for the public to work from home except for essential workers and those working on construction sites.

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This followed the lead of Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, who announced similar restrictions earlier the same day.

One publication said that Johnson is "betting the house" on the rollout of vaccines being successful enough to vaccinate around 13 million people and loosen restrictions by mid-February.

Northern Ireland was already into the second week of a six-week lockdown imposed on Dec. 26. Similar restrictions in Wales are likely to stay in force until the end of January.