Your overview of economic and policy news with a focus on the food and consumer goods industry. Featuring the latest developments and guidance on the rising cost of living, the Ukraine crisis, labour shortages, COVID-19 and adapting to a new relationship with the EU
Food availability concerns
The NFU has warned that the UK is ‘sleepwalking’ into a food supply crisis as rising input costs and labour challenges are likely to lead to a fall in agricultural production of certain products in 2023. Energy-intensive crops such as tomatoes and cucumbers are expected to be most impacted.
This month’s IGD’s Shopper Confidence index has revealed that 62% of shoppers agree that food manufacturers and retailers can be trusted to ensure a good availability of food and groceries. This is the lowest level since this was first measured in 2017.
ShopperVista subscribers can read the full report here.
Supply chain disruption
The Operation Brock contraflow system on the M20 in Kent will be deployed from Monday 12 December ahead of the Christmas period and expected high passenger numbers. The aim is to manage any potential delays in the flow of HGVs to the ports.
Further information can be found here.
Energy Bill Relief Scheme
Organisations that are unable to access the Energy Bill Relief Scheme because they are supplied by non-licensed suppliers of energy or supply energy to businesses in non-standard ways are encouraged to complete this survey.
The government is due to set out details of how it plans to extend the Energy Bill Relief Scheme beyond March 2023.
Extended Producer Responsibility
The Government has published new guidance on how organisations can collect their packaging data for extended producer responsibility. Organisations must be ready to collect the correct packaging data from January 2023.
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Our round-up of the latest economic and political news, focused on FMCGs