Should basic food items be subject to price controls? The Scottish Government is considering putting a price cap on the price of essential food items such as bread, milk and eggs.

With substantial rises in the prices at the petrol pumps, and the ongoing fallout from the US/Israel War of Choice with Iran – the economic outlook for the cost of food and other items is not good.

Brexit, and leaving the largest free trade market in the world, the Covid pandemic, climate change with its ever increasing extreme weather events – all of these issues were already affecting our food security and the cost of living. The US/Israel decision to start a war with Iran resulting in the closure of a crucial marine highway has added to the focus governments around the world are now giving to their food security.

The Scottish Government has launched a consultation to gather views on the affordability of basic foodstuffs.

Tom Arthur, the Scottish Government Minister for Business and Fair Work said:

“The cost of living crisis is the biggest issue facing people in Scotland right now. Too many families are struggling to put food on the table, and bold action to help households is necessary.”

To start this off Tom Arthur held a Food Summit with a wide range of people involved in food production including: retailers, food producers, farmers, fishers, regulators, business organisations and anti-poverty charities.

The Scottish Government is proposing to set price caps for essential food items sold by qualifying retailers : more than 50% of its annual turnover is from the sale of grocery items, it has more than 250 employees, and it has a total annual turnover of more than £250 million per annum, i.e. big supermarkets.

The food items that are price capped would be set out in Regulations.

Click on this link to access further information and how to take part in the consultation : Price controls on essential food items: consultation paper. The consultation closes on 24 November 2026.

NFUScotland who took part in the Food Summit stated that,

“Food affordability and food security must go hand in hand. Maintaining a strong domestic agricultural sector is essential to ensuring Scotland can continue to produce high-quality food, support rural communities and contribute to wider environmental objectives.”

Food Standard’s Scotland has published its own paper in response to the proposals. FSS commented that :

“A key challenge in designing any food price cap policy is determining what constitutes an appropriate basket of “essential” food items. Decisions about the composition of such a basket could have implications for affordability, dietary health, consumer choice, retailer implementation and wider food system objectives.”

Fiona Grahame

---