English Farming and Food Partnerships (EFFP) chief executive, Siôn Roberts has warned that despite signs the economy could improve next year, trade and consumers alike will have to deal with a “new normal”.
In an address to the EFFP conference, Roberts said the change in consumer habits has presented a serious challenge to the trade as low food price inflation as has moved consumers into a period of “enforced frugality”.
He said: “Don’t be fooled, the need to increase global food production by 50 per cent by 2030 means that food prices are likely to rise not fall over the long-term.
“The ‘new normal’ will bring new challenges and opportunities and I think the interface between food and farming is key.”
Consumer thrift has left affordability at the heart of the UK food industry with value lines booming across all the major retailers. Food affordability improved year-on-year for 20 years until 2007 and Roberts warned that it would not become as affordable again until at least 2014.
Roberts added: “The UK is going to look a lot more to trade and manufacture in the future and food produced in the UK has a big role to play n this with sterling weak. It will have a key role in guiding us out of recession.”
The EFFP has highlighted the output gap between the capacity the UK had before the recession, in terms of real estate and human resources and Roberts said if the UK could close this gap using these spare resources and overcome current issues with a lack of wage growth and employment then a way ahead was clear.
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