Brexit vote chips food & drink confidence
12 Oct 2016
Britain’s vote to leave the EU has rocked confidence among the UK’s food and drink manufacturers, according to a survey by the Food & Drink Federation (FDF).
Following Brexit, figures reveal that 70% of food and drink manufacturers are less confident about the business environment.
The majority of those surveyed have also reported increased ingredient prices, drops in product margins, and concerns for the future raised by their EU workforce, FDF said.
Brexit will present both challenges and, through sensible negotiation, opportunities for businesses in the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink
John Stevenson, chairman of the APPG for Food and Drink Manufacturing
Only 11% are more confident about the business environment since the vote.
Commenting on the industry’s concerns, Ian Wright, director general of the FDF, said: “We share government’s view that we need to make the best of Brexit. Food and drink industry confidence is low. Slower revenue growth, coupled with prolonged business uncertainty, is affecting the industry’s ability to invest.
“The assurances we heard from government last week must be underpinned by credible plans for restoring confidence and negotiating a workable future relationship with the EU.”
To help boost confidence, FDF is calling for an industrial strategy partnership with the government to support the development of food and drink manufacturing, which it says offers the UK a “competitive advantage”.
John Stevenson, chairman of the APPG for Food and Drink Manufacturing, which is meeting today to discuss what Brexit means for the sector, said: “Brexit will present both challenges and, through sensible negotiation, opportunities for businesses in the UK’s largest manufacturing sector – food and drink.
“It is essential that colleagues in government go into negotiations equipped with a clear understanding of this sector’s priorities, which is why open dialogue and the active participation of food companies and their representative bodies in this debate is so essential. Food and drink is a national success story, with massive untapped opportunity to boost exports and improve its already impressive productivity performance, delivering even more for the UK economy.”
According to statistics, the UK food and drink sector supports 3.9 million jobs across the £108 billion UK food chain, and employs 400,000 people directly.
Of these, almost a third (29%) are non-UK EU nationals.
