It has shot up from £330m five years ago
The World of Wedgwood at Barlaston
Pottery firms are forking out a whopping £875 million-a-year in UK energy costs. That compares with a £330 million energy bill across the UK ceramics sector in 2020.
The Nottingham Trent University analysis suggests UK ceramics firms spend 70 per cent of turnover on energy costs and 14 per cent on Government and regulatory levies. But ceramics firms in China and America are benefiting from energy bills still at 2020 levels.
University analysts looked at one Stoke-on-Trent firm with a turnover of around £630,000 and 49 staff. It is this year shelling out £443,000-a-year on energy costs.
Now the GMB union is raising the disparity at today’s Labour Party conference and calling for greater support for manufacturers and lower energy prices. It comes as troubled pottery giant Wedwgood has today shut its Barlaston factory until 2026.
Ceramics worker Sharon Yates told delegates: “I am a proud pottery worker – just like my dad before me. The most highly-skilled potters make ceramics in my town and we export them around the globe. But the industry we rely on is dying.
“Spiralling energy prices – especially gas – mean that UK ceramic firms fork out £875 million in energy costs each year. That’s right – almost £1 billion just on energy costs. All while counterfeit products from China have flooded the market, driving down demand for the goods we make.
“The results are devastating. The government has helped our industry with electricity costs – but we rely on gas. If we do not help industries like ceramics with energy costs now – and invest in their cleaner future – we will keep losing decent, unionised jobs. And when those jobs go, our communities go with them.”
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