Dear All,
Detailed below is the Weekly News for 18th November.
Have a good week.
Gordon Polson – Chief Executive
Federation of Bakers Ltd
FOB Chief Executive’s Weekly News for 18th November
Barclays Economic Update: UK Slow GDP Growth
UK gross domestic product (GDP) increased by 0.3% (q-o-q) in q3’19 due to resilient consumption. The expenditure breakdown indicated resilient household consumption of 0.4% (q-o-q) in q3’19 as compared to 0.3% in q2’19. Investment growth was reported negative, indicating that the total investment in q3’19 was lower when compared to q4’17. Weak capital expenditure in q3’19 was due to construction and weak business investment, which was 3% lower than its cyclical growth in q4’17. The data for q3’19 indicated the pace of headline GDP growth closer to its underlying trend, highlighting an absence of momentum in the economy.
In the services sector, 4 out of 14 sectors contributed positively, with information and communication as the most significant contributor. in production, manufacturing sector reported yearly negative growth of -1.8%, which is its weakest since dec’18. Majority of the negative growth was due to investment and intermediate goods, highlighting the intensity of structural inhibitors. In construction, new work appeared resilient and increased by 3.5% as compared to dec’18. Additionally, repair and maintenance were delayed and the repair to new build ratio in sep’19 was the lowest since 2010, indicating lack of infrastructure spending
UK Government Focuses on Cutting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The UK government is looking for effective ways to cut industrial greenhouse gas emissions, as a part of £315m investment drive to decarbonise heavy industry and reach its target of net zero emissions by 2050. The department for business, energy and industrial strategy (BEIS) announced the investment drive alongside a public consultation to understand the areas, wherein capital spending should be deployed.
The industrial energy transformation fund (IETF) is likely to be launched in the spring of 2020 and be open to applications in the summer. The government is seeking industry views as part of the consultation process to determine which technologies it will support and who should be eligible for investment. It claimed that the money will help businesses to invest in efficiency measures designed to bring down power use and in turn reduce carbon emission output. Industry emissions accounted for c.25% of all UK emissions, with cement, ceramics, chemicals, food & drink, glass, iron and steel, oil refining, and pulp & paper sectors among the worst offenders
FDF and PRN: Ian Wright has written to the Environment Secretary Theresa Villiers and the Defra Parliamentary Under Secretary of State Rebecca Pow to highlight the “significant and serious financial hardship” food and drink companies face as a result of the escalation in PRN prices. The letter states that businesses face unprecedented and unbudgeted costs totalling hundreds of millions of pounds which, left unchecked, “will undoubtedly have to be passed directly on to consumers and shoppers in higher prices.” The FDF remains resolute in calling for a meeting with Defra at the earliest opportunity to discuss measures to take to address the crisis.
Coeliac UK: is in consultation with the UK government regarding the fortifying of gluten free flour with folic acid following the recent consultation.
Acrylamide: The European Commission has now published in the Official Journal, its updated acrylamide monitoring recommendation; Commission Recommendation (EU) 2019/1888 of 7 November 2019 on the monitoring of the presence of acrylamide in certain foods.
The full details are available via the following link: