Fishing leaders warn diesel costs are forcing boats out of business amid G7 fuel release

Fishing industry leaders have warned that soaring diesel prices are forcing boats out of business, with fuelling a vessel now costing more than the boat can earn from fishing. The National Federation of Fishermen's Organisations said the crisis is damaging the country's ability to produce its own food.

Fuel has always been the largest part of fishing businesses' costs. Since the US-Iran war started, the price of diesel for fishermen has doubled. An already large cost has soared, and the industry says it has reached the point where it costs more to fuel a boat than that boat can make by fishing. Fishing boats are starting to tie up, crews are being laid off and jobs are being lost. The warning is that once fishermen lose jobs on boats and have to look for work elsewhere, and once they cannot afford to keep running boats and sell up, they will not come back. The government talks about food security as part of national security, but the industry says the country's capacity to produce its own food is being degraded.

President Donald Trump said last night that he has ruled out a diesel export ban. His statement came hours after G7 nations agreed to release emergency fuel. The coordinated release involves 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil from emergency reserves to combat rising prices. Trump claimed he pushed Europe to make the decision. He said Europe has a lot of people and will make a major world contribution, and that the US will not impose the export ban. He said the US would do what it is supposed to do, and that a lot of oil would come shortly once the conflict with Iran ends, bringing prices down to where they were before, or possibly lower. He also said the US has a very good relationship with Europe, that Europe wanted the release because it uses a lot of diesel, and that he told European leaders it would be great if they put it out to the market.

Analysis of why diesel prices matter showed the average diesel pump price has gone above two pounds a litre, a record level and a psychologically significant mark. Diesel prices are also at record levels across much of Europe and in the US. The G7 action is described as unprecedented. A large part of the reason is where diesel comes from. In 2016, UK diesel imports mostly came from Russia. After Russia invaded Ukraine and sanctions were imposed, that dependence fell to almost zero. The UK then switched to the Middle East and the US. When the Strait of Hormuz closed, imports from the Middle East fell sharply, leaving Europe and the UK heavily dependent on American diesel imports. Trump had said he was thinking of shutting those imports, which would be disastrous for Europe. That is why the G7 is releasing stocks from stockpiles. European countries hold varying amounts of days' worth of imports, with Germany high and Switzerland also high, and the average across the continent about 200 days. Trump has complained that Europe had not released more of this earlier, saying it would have helped global prices and especially US prices, as he worries about losing the midterm elections. European stocks did not fall much after the Strait of Hormuz closed, but the release is meant to bring them down further and get more diesel into the market. The hope is to persuade Trump not to ban diesel exports. A ban would be disastrous for Europe and particularly for the UK, which has some of the lowest diesel stockpiles in Europe and would be very exposed, with another impact on diesel prices.