FOOD AND DRINK FEDERATION SCOTLAND RESPONSE TO ONS INFLATION FIGURES

Food and Drink Federation Scotland response to ONS inflation figures. Food and Drink Federation (FDF) Scotland’s, membership body representing food and drink manufactures, response to the latest ONS inflation figures on food price inflation

 Food and Drink Federation Scotland’s Chief Executive Officer David Thomson said:

 “It’s encouraging to see food and drink price inflation starting to drop off, and we hope it will continue to fall over the coming months.

“However, we know how concerned households remain about the costs of their weekly shop, and food and drink manufacturers are continuing to drive down costs wherever they can. But the fact remains that the cost of ingredients, energy, labour, packaging, logistics and other inputs remain stubbornly high, and still some way above pre-pandemic levels.

“High input costs and a challenging regulatory environment are taking their toll on the sector too, with insolvencies on the rise, now more than double their pre-pandemic level for our sector, and overall output shrinking.  Food and drink manufacturers are having to cancel or pause planned investments, restructure their businesses, leave vacancies unfilled, and reduce production – all of which is going to have a negative impact on future growth.  We’re working with governments across the UK to help us to mitigate these issues – to simplify and reduce the costs of regulation and to help create the conditions for growth – to help avoid long term scarring in our sector.”