[Pierre]

Originally Posted by Chris

Your definition of capitalism is way off the mark.

The seller of a product will indeed want to maximise profit, however the desire to do this is only part of the equation. Actually doing it in a competitive market is a whole other proposition.

Capitalism depends on supply and demand. Nobody can simply put their prices up unless they hold a monopoly, and monopolies are extremely difficult to sustain. So is price fixing, and that’s what would have to happen for every fisherman to put their prices up by 20% at the same time. This is illegal.

For any one or two fishermen to raise prices would simply result in them losing business. Unless theirs was a higher quality product, it would simply not sell until all the cheaper stuff had gone.

An import duty that amounts to perhaps 40p on the wholesale price of a good quality langoustine just isn’t going to have an impact on restaurants if all of them have to put the price up at the same time. In a half-decent British seafood restaurant* you would pay £25 for a dish of langoustine, and maybe get 5 or 6 “tails” on the plate. That adds £1 or £2 to the price of what was already the most expensive thing on the menu. People who were already prepared to order the most expensive dish do not choose not to do so for the sake of £1 or £2 more.

*And yes I know British restaurants won’t be affected by tariffs on British-caught langoustine, it’s just easier to use local prices for illustration.

As usual Chris is correct, my favourite treat when we could eat out is a nice fillet steak and I’ve paid anywhere between £20 - £35 for one, depending on the establishment.