Walkers crisps get 10% price hike – and it’s being blamed on Brexit
Spuds are British and brand fronted by footie legend Gary Lineker is blasted for 'opportunistic' rise
CRISP prices are to go up by a hefty ten per cent - and it's being blamed on Brexit.
Crisp giant Walkers is hiking the cost of a packet by 5p - despite the spuds being grown in Britain.
The firm - which has footie icon Gary Lineker fronting its ads - has been criticised for the "opportunistic" increase.
US owner PepsiCo says the costs of oil, seasoning and packaging have gone up due to "fluctuating exchange rates".
The standard price of a 32g packet will rise from 50p to 55p and a grab bag from 75p to 80p, reports the Mirror.
James Russell of cash and carry giant Blakemore said: “Brexit has caused uncertainty and I think this is massively opportunistic by PepsiCo."
Naeem Khaliq, of United Wholesale Scotland, added: "I think they are using Brexit for an excuse to say the price is going up."
The rise was due last week but stores will pass it on to customers once they run out of old stock.
Walkers said: "We import a number of different ingredients and materials to produce a finished packet of Walkers crisps.
"We are taking steps to cover some of these additional costs through selective cost price changes.”
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The price of tea bags could also go up, Typhoo warned last week, due to the higher costs of bringing leaves in from Kenya. It called the pound's fall against the dollar an "absolute disaster" which could see annual profits collapse.
When food giant Unilever wanted to impose a ten per cent price hike on Tesco last month, the supermarket chain refused to stock its brands including Marmite.
Chocolate firm Nestle and British Airways say there may be price rises and the cost of Apple's computers has risen by 20 per cent.
Brexit is also taking a thrashing over petrol prices at a 14-month high, wine buyers facing 30 per cent rises on some European labels and holiday deals set to soar.
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