FOB Chief Executive’s Weekly News for 1st November 2021

Barclays Economic Update:

UK Output Producer Price Inflation Increased to 6.7% During 12-months to Sep’21

According to data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), output Producer Price Inflation (PPI) increased to 6.7% during the 12-months to sep’21 from 6.0%$ during the 12-months to aug’21. Meanwhile, the monthly output PPI stood at 0.5% in sep’21, compared to 0.7% in aug’21.

In terms of product groups, eight out of ten products reported upward contributions to the change in the rate in sep’21. Petroleum products provided the largest contribution of 0.33 percentage points. The annual rate for petroleum products increased 11.2 percentage points to 61.7% in sep’21 from 50.5% in aug’21, driven by coke and refined petroleum products for domestic market.

In addition, input producer price inflation increased to 11.4% during the 12-months to sep’21 from 11.2% during the 12-months to aug’21. Crude oil provided the major contribution of 0.39 percentage points in input annual rate change.

 

UK Flash Composite Output Index Increases to 56.8 in Oct’21

According to data published by IHS Markit/CIPS, UK flash composite output index increased to 56.8 in oct’21 from a final index of 54.9 in sep’21. New business volumes increased significantly in oct’21 and the rate of expansion was the fastest for three months.

The seasonally adjusted UK flash manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) increased to 57.7 in oct’21 from a final index of 57.1 in sep’21, indicating a two-month high. The flash manufacturing output index decreased to 50.6 in oct’21 from a final index of 52.7 in sep’21. The decline in the manufacturing sector was due to material shortages.

The seasonally adjusted flash UK services business activity index increased to 58.0 in oct’21 from a final index of 55.4 in sep’21. New business volumes increased due to an increase in domestic demand for business and consumer services in oct’21.

 

According to data released by Cushman & Wakefield, UK logistics and industrial space hits record low, with increased 16.1m sq. ft. taken in q3’21. Take up volume of 48.9m sq. ft. was recorded during the first nine months of 2021, compared to 53m sq. ft. in 2020, as e-commerce continued to expand.

This increasing demand resulted in a supply shortage for the first time since Cushman & Wakefield began tracking UK logistics and industrial supply in 2009, with availability decreasing to 49m. sq. ft. This led to speculative development with 12m sq. ft. in the pipeline as at end of q3’21, in an attempt to match supply with demand.

2021 sets a new record in investments with £10.7bn transacted during the first nine months of the year. Activity in the sector increased mainly due to overseas investors, primarily US private equity companies, which have undertaken 63% of the transactions in 2021.

 

Shape the future of food and drink

The FDF would like to invite members to share your views on business activity in our Q3 2021 Business Confidence Survey. Our survey is straightforward to complete and will close on Friday 5 November 2021. Now, more than ever, your participation is vital in allowing us to feed back to the media, parliamentarians and the wider stakeholder network. If you have not received a copy of the survey, please contact IndustryGrowth.Team@fdf.org.uk

 

Food systems discussion at COP26  On Nature and Land Use Day (Saturday 6 November) at COP26, the Food and Drink Federation, British Retail Consortium and National Farmers’ Union (as representatives of the F4) will host a Q&A panel discussion – the role of food systems in addressing the twin threats of climate change and biodiversity loss. This event will hear from the UK and international industry leaders working across different aspects of the global food supply chain about different ways to achieve sustainability. The event will take place at 3:45pm on 6 November and will be livestreamed via this link. The link will allow anyone to watch the event live or watch the recording post-event.   Defra Labour market survey The aim of this survey is to collect accurate and representative data on the current state of the labour market in key sectors of the UK economy. This data will be used to make an assessment of the extent to which supply of labour is meeting demand and to understand the main drivers behind any shortfall in the supply of labour. This is a weekly survey and will run from Friday 29 October (today) until Thursday 4 November. Due to the sensitivity of this data this survey is completely anonymous and we will not be sharing the raw data outside of central government. Any presentation or use of the data will only be across government. This survey aims to take a snapshot of the situation at a specific point in time to provide a consistent picture across all businesses. It should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete this survey.

Organics goods imports

Defra has laid new legislation that streamlines updating of the lists of recognised third countries with third country control bodies for organics goods being imported into Great Britain.

Port Health Authorities, local authorities and businesses will be able to access and search these lists to determine where organic products may be imported from, and under what conditions, without having to search through legislation.

:HMRC Update: If you move goods between Great Britain (GB) and countries in the European Union (EU), you might be affected when full customs controls come into effect on 1‌‌‌ January‌‌‌ ‌2022.

If you have a specific question about importing, exporting or customs reliefs

Call our Customs and International Trade helpline on 0300‌‌‌ ‌322‌‌‌ ‌9434. The helpline is open from‌‌ ‌8am to 10pm‌‌‌ ‌Monday to‌‌‌ ‌Friday and from‌‌ ‌8am to‌‌‌ ‌4pm at weekends. You can also send us your questions or contact us by webchat.

The Export Support Service is a new helpline for UK businesses to get answers to practical questions about exporting to Europe. The service is a ‘one-stop shop’ and brings together UK government information, making it easier for exporters to access advice and support.

Visit our HMRC YouTube channel

Our HMRC’s YouTube channel has videos and recorded webinars about customs processes and what you need to do before you trade goods with the EU.

Watch our Rules of Origin recorded webinar to understand the process and what you need to do if you buy from, send or sell goods to the EU.

Register now for our live webinars

We’ll explain existing guidance and answer general questions about the content. We’re unable to answer questions specific to the items you import or export on the webinars:

• Importing – steps you need to take before making your supplementary declaration – get advice on how to make a supplementary declaration and how intermediaries can help

• Customs Import Declarations: an overview – of the whole declarations process

• Exporting: what you need to do to keep your goods moving – covering zero-rated VAT, customs declarations, using an intermediary as well as licences, certificates, and authorisations

• Trader responsibilities when using an intermediary – your responsibilities if using an intermediary to complete import or export declarations

• Importing food and drink, and animal products from the EU to Great Britain – DEFRA webinars about upcoming changes and how to register and use the import system IPAFFS (Import of Products, Animals, Food and Feed System).

You can also find webinars and videos from other government departments about trading with the EU.

Useful information

• Download the trader checklist, read our updated guides or visit our customer forums.

• Sign up for the Trader Support Service if you’re moving goods between GB and Northern Ireland. You can access online training modules and webinars for support with the Northern Ireland Protocol.

 

 

FDF: The Food and Drink Federation’s Inclusion and Diversity Network will be meeting for the first time on 23 November, as we continue our efforts to make food and drink manufacturing a more diverse and inclusive sector.

 

FDF Inclusion and Diversity Network

 

Tuesday 23 November 2021  FDF, 10 Bloomsbury Way, London, WC1A 2SL   08:30 – 10:30 Free for FDF members | £40 + VAT non members

 

 

Off the back of the publication of the Inclusion and Diversity in Food and Drink report and July roundtable event, inclusion and diversity personnel from the sector will meet at FDF’s London office to share experiences and best practice on what is an increasingly important policy area for all businesses.

 

 

Guest speaker

 

Christopher Hayden-Hayes, HR Director, Kellogg’s Having worked in HR for over 10 years, Christopher is now responsible for developing the people strategy for Kellogg’s British and Irish markets and overseeing the execution of people plans for the broader colleague base at their UK head office. As well as creating high performing teams and driving meaningful colleague engagement, Christopher is also passionate about equity, diversity and inclusion, creating workplace environments where everyone can bring their whole self to work, and ensuring organisations and brands don’t just recognise the commercial benefits of diversity and inclusion, but advocate for broader cultural and societal change.