FOB Chief Executive's Weekly News for 2nd March 2020

Barclays Economic Update: UK consumer confidence increased in feb’20

According to Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GfK), consumer confidence increased to -7 in feb’20 from -9 in jan’20, which is the strongest it has been since aug’18.

A survey published by Lloyds bank indicated that overall business confidence remained at a 14-month high of 23%, after five consecutive monthly increases. Companies turned positive about Brexit for the first time since sep’18 and hiring intentions increased for the fourth month in a row.

The Confederation of British Industry stated that the confidence in the country’s huge services industry had increased over the past three months to feb’20. Optimism among business and professional services firms increased at the fastest pace since aug’15.

Joe Staton, client strategy director at GfK stated that the only known factor is the potential impact of coronavirus on behaviour, confidence and spending patterns,

UK supply chains affected by the coronavirus

Production in manufacturing plants of China was hindered because they stopped receiving materials necessary to build their products. This in turn affects the ability of the UK manufacturers reliant on Chinese imports to meet customer demands.

It was estimated that c.60 million people were affected by travel restrictions within China, creating a shortage of manufacturing workers who are prevented from using public transport. According to American Chamber of Commerce, 55 companies in Shanghai stated that their global operations had been affected, with 78% stating that they lacked enough staff to run production lines.

JCB is being forced to halt its production line and reduce the working hours of around 4,000 of its UK workforce, owing to a shortage of components being imported from China. Fiat Chrysler stated that at least one of its European manufacturing plants could be forced to stop production, as it too sources parts from China. Additionally, Hyundai closed down all of its car manufacturing sites in South Korea when components from China stopped arriving.

Brexit: The Government published its approach to the UK’s future relationship with the EU, which builds on the manifesto the Government was elected on and the PM’s speech in Greenwich earlier this month.

The Political Declaration set out the parameters for our future relationship and was clear that a Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement should be at its core. Our approach outlines the structure and policy content for that agreement. It also sets out further information on the suite of agreements that complement an FTA, including fisheries.

The first round of negotiations will begin in Brussels today Monday.

Read the UK’s approach to negotiations with the EU at GOV.UK.

The EU published its approach earlier this week – read it on the European Council’s website

Defra Brexit Update: Please find below the Defra Agri-Food e-bulletin, which you can cascade to your members and partners in the supply chain. The e-bulletin contains information and communications that are relevant to Agri-Food businesses.

UK publishes US trade negotiations objectives

Today (Monday 2 March) the UK published our objectives for trade negotiations with the US. These outline our approach to negotiations with the US, where we will use our independent voice to champion free trade and lower barriers to trade.

The UK aims to secure free trade agreements with countries covering 80% of UK trade within the next three years, starting with the USA, Australia, New Zealand and Japan, in addition to the EU.

All our new trade deals will be specifically tailored to our country’s economy, so they can deliver greater opportunities and higher standards of living for every part of the UK. The US negotiating objectives set out that any future agreement must uphold our high standards on food safety and animal welfare.

Talks with the US are expected to start this month.

Defra consultation: food origin labelling

On Friday 21 February, Defra launched a consultation on food origin labelling enforcement. This consultation is running for four weeks and will close on Friday 20 March.

The consultation is specifically on enforcement measures in support of EU Implementing Regulation 2018/775. We are not proposing in this consultation any changes to what the existing rules already require on a food label.

For further details and to take part in the consultation, please visit https://consult.defra.gov.uk/food/food-origin-labelling-enforcement/.

The future of farming policy

There is now more information available about agricultural policy in England over the next ten years. This comes as the Agriculture Bill goes through the Committee Stage in the House of Commons.

The Farming for the Future update includes information about:

Productivity: From 2021, new government grants will help farmers to invest in equipment and technology which will help them to increase their productivity and deliver environmental benefits.
Research & Development: From 2022, Defra will support research and development projects to help our farming industry benefit from innovation, enabling farmers to produce food more efficiently and sustainably with lower emissions.
Animal Health and Welfare: A new deal will be struck between government and farmers to promote the production of healthier, higher welfare animals.

Environmental land management: policy discussion

On Tuesday 25 February, Defra released further details about the Environmental Land Management Scheme (ELM). It will transform how we support the agricultural sector by rewarding farmers with public money for public goods.

Responding to feedback from engagement so far, we are proposing a three-tier design that takes into account our diverse farming and environmental landscape in England and the range of outcomes we want to achieve.

You can read about ELM and take part in the discussion online now.

The discussion is open for 10 weeks (closing Tuesday 5 May). Defra will also be running regional events to discuss the proposals. More details on these, including dates and locations, will be released soon.

Environment Bill Passes its Second Reading

The Environment Bill is a transformative piece of legislation to help ensure that we maintain and improve our environmental protections as we leave the EU, build on the UK’s strong track record, and set out a comprehensive and world-leading vision to allow future generations to prosper.

The Bill was introduced to Parliament on Thursday 30 January and passed its Second Reading on Wednesday 26 February. The Bill will next go to the Committee Stage, a detailed line-by-line examination in Parliament. You can track the progress of the Environment Bill and read debates on all stages of the Bill’s passage on the Parliament website.

Strategic Priorities Fund launches call for applications for £5m Centre for Doctoral Training in food systems

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) in partnership with government are pleased to announce a £5 million call to support one Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT) focused on developing the next generation of interdisciplinary food systems thinkers. Further information, including details of a webinar on 6 March, are available on the UKRI website. The deadline for applications is 13 May 2020.

Send us your nominations for New Year 2021 honours round

Defra are seeking honours nominations from Defra sectors for the New Year 2021 honours round. Attached are a letter with more detailed information, and the nomination form. We invite you to make nominations on behalf of your organisation for this honours round by emailing completed nominations to defra-honours@defra.gov.uk. The deadline for nominations is Friday 8 May.

FSA public attitudes survey results published

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has published its Biannual Public Attitudes Tracker results for November 2019. The survey shows that opinion about food safety issues is fairly evenly divided between chemicals from the environment in food (32%), food hygiene when eating out (31%), the use of pesticides to grow food (31%) and food poisoning (28%). In terms of wider food issues 57% of those surveyed were concerned about food waste, 50% about animal welfare, 44% about food prices and 42% about the amount of salt in food. The survey also showed that awareness of different types of food poisoning has gradually increased in the last 2 years. Findings also demonstrated that 83% of respondents felt they had enough information about what food contains to make their food choices.

Adult & child obesity trends in England

Public Health England (PHE) has published two sets of slides which present the latest data on child obesity at a national and regional level, illustrating trends and patterns examined by age, sex, ethnic group and area deprivation. It has also published slides on adult obesity trends and patterns at a national level for England. The slides are based on data from the National Child Measurement Programme and the Health Survey for England.

Salt Awareness Week will take place 9-15 March 2020 and this year’s theme is ‘Hide and Seek’!

The text below in italics is CASHs announcement:

It’s unfair that the food industry is able to ‘hide’ so much salt in our food and the responsibility for a healthier life falls to the public to ‘seek’ out lower salt options. In a world where we are increasingly looking for help and guidance in eating a healthier and more sustainable diet, we are still surrounded by salt.

We all know that we should be adding less salt to our food at the table or during cooking, but salt is also added to so many other products. Whether it’s your cereal at breakfast, your snack for elevenses, your sandwich at lunch or your takeaway in the evening, salt is there. It isn’t always obvious and it comes in different shapes and sizes, but just because you don’t personally add salt to your food, and just because it doesn’t necessarily taste salty, it doesn’t mean salt isn’t there. And when eating at a restaurant it’s impossible to know how much salt is in the food because chefs add a different level of seasoning each time they cook a dish.

The food industry must do more to help us live longer, healthier lives.