The ‘challenging period’ begins now
In the UK on the morning of Friday 24 June, the pound slumped to a 31-year low, more than £100 billion was wiped off the FTSE 100 and prime minister David Cameron announced his resignation. The previous day, the UK voted to leave the European Union by a 51.9 to 48.1 per cent margin.
And so begins a chaotic period with both government and the public asking, now what? What now, indeed, for the food industry?
Food and drink manufacturers had collectively backed the ‘remain’ campaign, identifying the single market, access to raw materials and the free movement of labour among key considerations in coming to their view. A comprehensive poll of members carried out by the Food and Drink Federation (FDF) revealed 71 per cent were in favour of staying in Europe, compared with 12 per cent who expressed support to leave.
Following the announcement on Friday, FDF’s director general Ian Wright said that in light of its poll, “the majority of FDF members will regard this as a disappointing result”.
The federation said it will now work across industry and with the government “to find a way through this very challenging period that we face”.
As the dust begins to settle, industry is now scrambling to understand what Brexit means for trading, market access and regulation.
Food & Drink Technology will follow the fallout closely. Have your say: email carly@bellpublishing.com or comment below.
