6 minute read
GUILD TALK
View from HQ
By John Farrand managing director
IT’S COSTA DEL UK again this year for us. We’re taking ‘staycation’ perhaps too literally by not getting on a plane, train, ferry or even in the car. It’s more of a ‘homecation’.
I’ve always quietly struggled with holidaymakers who insist on travelling to sunny southern Europe and then expect a British pint or fry up. Those people will be better off in Blighty this year, as judging by the Food & Drink Federation’s recent figures, there’s barely any British produce exported to the EU anymore. I continue to marvel at Westminster’s spin on this one, as they have repeatedly told us that all is well, but a 47% drop in exports to the EU compared to the same (first) quarter last year is shocking.
Our erstwhile biggest trading partner, Ireland, had a 70.6% fall in export value of £307.4m to £90.5m from February 2020 to 2021. Only whisky showed a gain in the entire top 10 of products exported to the EU; the dairy sector has been slammed with cheese down 64.6% and milk & cream down a whopping (or whipping?) 96.4%.
This is truly concerning and add the argument from a previous rant that it is largely the bigger businesses who are still exporting, this serves only to paint a rather homogenised picture of our food and drink credentials to the EU.
Further monolith love was announced last week as larger-scale food producers and supermarket distribution hubs were exempt from self-isolating from the ‘Pingdemic’.
‘Pingpong’ more like, as this smells a little rotten and anti-SME again. I get that we need to isolate to prevent spreading the virus, but it seems arse about face to lift mask regs and social distancing while at the same time grinding the economy to a halt because of a dysfunctional track and trace app.
I’m with Andrew Goodacre of the British Independent Retailers Association (see page 5) who wants legislation to consider the independents too. One or two pings in our trade and the whole business needs to close as that’s the entire workforce sat at home – doubly annoying as they’ll likely spend their summer holiday there, too.
The Word on Westminster
By Edward Woodall ACS
THE GOVERNMENT IS slowly limping into summer recess, grateful for the departure of parliament, and the scrutiny of MPs, as they leave to enjoy their summer holidays in the UK. For many MPs I am sure a question on their mind over the summer will be, has Boris’ premiership peaked? The political lift that he received from the successful vaccine rollout has certainly ended.
When it comes to reopening in England, the Government has caused problems for themselves. Mesmerised by the opportunity to hammer the ‘Freedom Day’ message home, they failed to anticipate some of the reopening challenges and the case rates spike caused by the much more transmissible Delta variant. This has had dire impacts on the food supply chain and other critical industries that kept the country running during the last 15 months.
The Government’s messaging on when to self-isolate was also chaotic. The NHS COVID-19 app was labelled ‘advisory’ by ministers. This is a message they have quickly rowed back from and no doubt will regret further if we return to lockdown in the autumn.
For a number of months now the food supply chain, including the retail industry, has warned of problems on the horizon. It started with driver shortages, which were admittedly the result of longstanding issues in the industry, but were also being exacerbated by drivers having to self-isolate. Now, these issues have crept into wholesalers and retail outlets leading to headlines that suggest empty shelves and panic buying.
This time, the response was quicker, the PM announced a new scheme to allow some workers to leave self-isolation early. But this turned out to be another example of making up policy on the hoof and the process has been delayed again and does not include frontline retail workers.
The summer recess could not have come sooner for a Government that needs to regroup. It is clear that ‘Freedom Day’ has not met expectations and that living with the virus will be harder than we imagined. We also need policymakers to move quicker in these key moments. While it has often been the case that public policy is always trying to keep up with innovations in markets and changes in societies, in a crisis like a pandemic we need policy to get ahead of the situation.
‘Pingpong’ more like, as this smells a little rotten and anti-SME again. I get that we need to isolate to prevent spreading the virus, but it seems arse about face to li mask regs and social distancing while at the same time grinding the economy to a halt because of a dysfunctional track and trace app.
I’m with Andrew Goodacre of the British Independent Retailers Association (see page 5) who wants legislation to consider the independents too. One or two pings in our trade and the whole business needs to close as that’s the entire workforce sat at home – doubly annoying as they’ll likely spend their summer holiday there, too.
Edward Woodall is head of policy & public affairs at small shops group ACS edward.woodall@acs.org.uk
Forthcoming dates for your diary
We are opening up our diaries for the second half of the year and looking forward to seeing you in person once again. Mark your calendars:
This year’s Great Taste judging is now complete and results will be announced on Tuesday 21st September. We’d like to thank all of the judges and sponsors who have played such a vital role in this year’s awards.
Then it’s time to turn our attention to the World Cheese Awards taking place in Oviedo, Spain, as part of the Asturias Paraíso Natural International Cheese Festival from 3rd - 6th November. Entry will open on Monday 23rd August and close on Thursday 23rd September, or earlier if the entry cap is reached. Early entry is strongly recommended. Find out more:
gff.co.uk/worldcheese.
Following last month’s announcement that a revamped Guild Retail Cheese training course will return this autumn, bookings are now being taken for Tuesday 28th September (London) and Tuesday 19th October (Harrogate). Booking information: gff.co.uk/
training/cheese.
Finally, join us at Fine Food Show North to reunite and rediscover the very best food & drink on Sunday 17th & Monday 18th October at the Yorkshire Event Centre in Harrogate. Register for your free ticket: gff.co.uk/
finefoodshownorth.
The Guild of Fine Food represents fine food shops and specialist suppliers. Want to join them?
GENERAL ENQUIRIES Guild of Fine Food
Guild House, 23b Kingsmead Business Park, Shaftesbury Road, Gillingham, Dorset SP8 5FB UK
Tel: +44 (0) 1747 825200 Fax: +44 (0) 1747 824065
info@gff.co.uk gff.co.uk THE GUILD TEAM: Managing director:
John Farrand
Marketing director:
Tortie Farrand
Sales director:
Sally Coley
Operations director:
Christabel Cairns
Sales manager:
Ruth Debnam
Sales executives:
Becky Haskett Sam Coleman
Membership, circulation & awards manager:
Karen Price
Operations manager:
Claire Powell
Operations assistant:
Meredith White
Events manager:
Stephanie Hare-Winton
Marketing & events assistant:
Sophie Brentnall
Financial controller:
Stephen Guppy gff.co.uk
Accounts manager:
Denise Ballance
Accounts assistant:
Julie Coates
Chairman:
Bob Farrand
Director:
Linda Farrand
