What do Christmas market traders say about rising prices?

详细摘要

From £8 bratwursts to £11 Yorkshire pudding wraps, why is the cost of the markets rising year on year?

Mention Christmas markets these days and the conversation often turns to rising prices – from £8 bratwursts, £11 Yorkshire pudding wraps and even £5 for a few marshmallow sticks.

But what do the people behind the stalls think? Are they benefiting from the hikes or are their own profits being squeezed?

Traders at Manchester's Christmas markets told the BBC they were feeling the pressure of increasing bills for staff, ingredients and energy, with some saying they were making less money despite charging more.

One trader said it costs at least £4,000 a day to run each her four stalls, while another has cut prices to keep customers coming back.

Nils Borstel, 25, helps run Bratwurst King, a family business which has operated at the markets since 1999.

He said a sausage that previously cost £3.50 now sold for £8, with much of the increase taking place over the past five or six years.

Borstel, whose family operates four stalls across the city centre, said rising costs for meat, electricity, staffing and accommodation had forced the business to increase prices.

About 15 workers travel from Germany to help run the stalls, alongside staff recruited in the UK.

He said that despite busy crowds and dry weather during the opening weekend, people appeared more cautious about spending than in previous years.

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