Industry anticipates tough time at Christmas
The UK food and drink industry is anticipating tough Christmas trading conditions, according to the Food & Drink Federation’s latest Confidence survey.
It reveals that business leaders fear a tough time this festive season, with optimism waning in the final quarter of the year, in contrast to the previous two quarters.
“The results of our latest survey show that food and drink business leaders are bracing themselves for what could potentially be one of the toughest Christmas trading periods in recent years,” says the FDF’s economic and commercial services director Steve Barnes. “Christmas is traditionally our busiest production period and when we would expect to see higher levels of demand in both our domestic and overseas markets. However, continued rises in ingredient prices and an uncertain economic outlook are impacting confidence and this volatility is making it harder for businesses to plan ahead.
“However our sector has always proved resilient and we are confident that it will continue to be so, and make a significant contribution to the UK’s economic recovery.”