Hard-hit UK export figures underline key long-term major trading policy concerns

Latest figures from the UK’s Food and Drink Federation (FDF) on levels of exports around the world have made sobering reading, as results are 20% down compared against the start of the pandemic in 2020.

There have been numerous factors at play that have produced such disappointing figures, but as we have previously cited, the greatest elephant in the room has to be the spectre of Brexit that has severely hampered trade with our nearest European neighbours.

No amount of spin from the former Conservative administration that it was ‘the will of the people’ (it in fact passed by the narrowest of margins possible, with a series of polls in the past couple of years now heavily indicating that the UK would choose to return to the EU were there to be a new vote.

To put this in context, the sheer loss to the economy has been a subject of hot debate, but the LSE placed its damage between 2-3% GDP prior to 2022, rising to a very troubling 5.5% after that, when the full set of delayed Brexit restrictions kicked in. Elsewhere, the Greater London Authority last year citied research that heavily indicated that the British economy was now some £140 billion worse off from having left the EU, with London alone losing £30 billion.

Had we not left the EU, losses on that scale would have fully funded the much-delayed and reduced HS2 train line between London and Manchester (which is now, a great extended cost, only set to limp half way to Birmingham), as well as replacing the vast number of crumbling post-war school buildings across the UK that badly need replacing, and much-needed investment into our NHS health services.

This is all now lost to us, and while the recently appointed Labour government has sought to move closer to European partners, it has stated there will be no Brexit re-run – but you have to question why that is? Can anyone name a government around the world that has not changed its mind or altered course on a major policy that is fundamental to a country’s future? I can’t think of a single one, certainly as far as democratic nations are concerned.

Where exactly does confectionery fit into this you might ask? Well, the reality is, that as we have covered in depth, the heightened red tape that Brexit has brought about has made exporting to Europe extremely difficult, time-consuming and expensive, leading to many firms operating across sweets, snacks and bakery markets to entirely shift their focus to a domestic market, losing once profitable trading opportunities in the process.

This is can in no way be considered progress and nearly a decade on from our 2016 Brexit vote, few if anyone can claim that it is anything but a major failure. Have there been any benefits at all? Extremely few is the answer – we struggled to control our borders terribly well before Brexit, now even less so due to heightened criminal gang activity, our economy? Well, there was no danger of losing the beloved pound as that was enshrined in the terms of our membership, and the much-cited fear of losing our judicial freedoms?

Well these were always in our hands, except for the extremely few isolated cases that were taken to the European Court of Human Rights (which the UK had a very strong hand in establishing its parameters around preserving essential standards about rights not to be tortured, or rights to a fair trial), so it is surely time, despite the clear divisive nature of the issue, to admit it failed and fully repair the damage as best as possible – which must include a renewed vote at some stage.

Perhaps one of the only benefits of leaving the EU that could potentially work in our favour over the course of many decades is the ability to strike independent trade deals that were not permitted under EU membership (which was in truth a long-running issue previously), that has seen a deal struck with India, reportedly worth some £4.8 billion.

A further deal with the US agreed last month that had heralded some promise, quickly unravelled as it emerged that after having no tariffs on our steel, that would now be charged at 25%, so the merits of that agreement are very much debatable at the time of writing.

Beyond Brexit, the other major factor in exports declining has of course been the Covid-19 pandemic – which saw trade take a major hit both domestically and overseas, compounding the problems that had been building up for years prior to that. In many instances, there are many SME companies, and a fair number of larger enterprises too that have yet to return to anywhere near their pre-pandemic trading highs seen during the past 15 years.

The challenge for delivering healthier products

While trading results from the FDF proved challenging reading this past week, the organisation claimed a glimmer of hope in other areas, with an internal study asserting that the formulation of products across the sector has improved during the past decade, with some segments recording cuts in sugar and salt of up to 30%.

Though precise market segment figures have not been produced by the organisation, it cited decisions by leading manufacturers such as Mondelez in delivering a reduction of calories, fat and sugar in many of its ranges, along with other fast-rising brands like Tru-Fru, fruit-based snacking options, illustrating that consumer habits an tastes are steadily changing in favour of more perceived healthier options.

There have been some notable successes in this regard, with the ‘Sugar Tax” on drinks seeking a marked improvement from manufacturers in light of clear government regulations coming in on the topic – which many health campaigners have called to be extended into the food sector, particularly surrounding confectionery, snacks and bakery ranges.

Indeed, the now defunct Public Health England’s last publicly available figures from several years ago, revealed that a voluntary industry self-regulation approach significantly failed in its stated goal of encouraging companies to reduce sugar levels by 20%. Indeed, as we have reported, sugar in chocolate categories, in fact increased slightly over that reported period, with only a limited number of healthier profile products emerging.

This underlined the fact that without actual government regulations being in place, then simply relying on industry to deliver on some admittedly challenging policies to implement, has not delivered the hoped-for results. It remains to be seen whether HFSS health agenda will help significantly in encouraging manufacturers to offer healthier ranges to a population that is presently experiencing an obesity crisis, but the industry itself is claiming progress is being made.

To that point, as Confectionery Production has found in covering major shows including Sweets & Snacks Expo, ISM Middle East and its parent show, ISM Cologne, there are in fact a number of smaller companies that are creating some innovative healthier food series that are disrupting the market in the plant based sector particular, as well as in a number of other aisles within our nation’s supermarkets that offers hope for the future.

Neill Barston, editor, Confectionery Production

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