Brexit Regulations

The final phase of Brexit regulations came in at the end of April with physical checks on plant

and animal imports coming into Britain from the EU. These checks will see imports

categorized into 3 risk groups and potentially mean lorries could be held up at border control

points around the country. The government has estimated these checks will cost businesses

and extra £330m a year and increase food inflation by 0.2% over 3 years. Our suppliers

report that they are already seeing costs creeping up on EU poultry imports in particular.

Grain Prices:

The relentless storms and flooding have cut harvests for farmers while also limiting the

amount of planting they can do to grow the next batch of crops. Harvests could drop by

almost a fifth, according to the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) which examined

crop forecasts. It found that the production of wheat, barley, oats and oilseed rape could fall

by four million tonnes, equivalent to 17.5 per cent, compared to last year. And the decline is

even worse if compared to the average since 2015 at five million tonnes or 21 per cent.

We expect to see this affect prices of flour, bread, oil, beer and processed foods.

UK Poultry:

UK retailers are continuing to push towards higher welfare poultry and it is putting mounting pressure on suppliers to meet these requirements, with a lot of businesses not taking on new customers in the catering or wholesale sector. Retail has the ability to pay premiums meaning suppliers can fetch a higher market rate for product locking out catering and wholesalers.

Sourcing any boneless UK product is proving challenging, with thigh meat being in high demand from the public.

Increased labour costs and production costs are adding to mounting pressure on the UK supply chain and the price will be affected going forward.

Fruit & Vegetables:

Sandwiched between spring and summer, May has a great assortment of spring products

and sees the arrival of early summer veg. Homegrown UK produce will become more

prominent in the marketplace with UK salads coming soon.

In Season this month:

• Asparagus
• Jersey Royal Potatoes
• Cornish New Potatoes
• English Peas
• Hispi Cabbage
• Strawberries
• Spanish Melons
• Wild Garlic
• Baby Spinach

Fish & Seafood:

Pubs to open later:

Pubs will be able to open until 1am if England or Scotland make the semi-finals of the UEFA

European Football Championships this summer.

Home secretary James Cleverley has confirmed the two-hour extension to licensing hours

will be granted on match days, should one or both teams progress to the semi-finals.

MPs launch inquiry into hospitality staff shortages

MPs have launched an inquiry into the issue of staff recruitment and retention in the hospitality industry. The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Hospitality and Tourism is booking to explore why the industry has such a high number of staff vacancies and how it can respond. It is asking businesses to make submissions to its inquiry, which will end by making a series of recommendations to government.

The number of unfilled hospitality roles has remained steadily above 100,000 since the start of the pandemic in 2020, and many staff members also returned overseas after Brexit. There were 112,000 vacant hospitality jobs at the end of 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), up from 89,000 before the pandemic. The inquiry wants to hear from businesses about the barriers they face to recruitment, the impact of zero-hours contracts on staff, and how operators are being impacted by the government's focus on encouraging firms to hire UK-born workers.