Britain's Food and Drink Federation (FDF) has published the second of its quarterly business confidence surveys, which has found that for more than three quarters of manufacturers, rising costs and Brexit rank among the top concerns.
Amongst those polled, increasing costs are a shared cause for concern, with ingredient costs (62%), increased packaging costs (61%) and increased energy costs (51%) having the biggest impact on their business in the second quarter of the year.
For SMEs, however, which account for more than half of respondents, Brexit is perhaps an even greater concern.
Lacking Brexit Contigency Plans
While around 45% of businesses said that they had put Brexit contingency plans in place, some 70% of SMEs said they had no contingency plans, putting them the most at risk in case of a 'no deal' Brexit.
Manufacturers cited 'Increased Tariffs', 'Border Controls', 'Regulatory Equivalence' or 'Market Access' as top concerns relating to Brexit.
Speaking on the matter, FDF Chief Executive Ian Wright CBE said: “The shadow of a 'no deal' Brexit looms large over business confidence amongst the UK's food and drink manufacturing industry. This should be no surprise: there are so many crucial questions to which businesses need answers.
“Despite this, manufacturers remain resilient. It is encouraging to see so much future investment planned. Now Government must start providing the clarity needed to navigate unchartered waters as we look to prepare for our future outside the EU.”
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
