News Round Up 20th May

All things impacting global supply chains this week.

Much of the news this week was about food security and what to do about it. Different interests see the problem differently. Consumers see a cost of living crisis, Farmers see increasing cost and reduced incomes. Large food processors see opportunities to extract more profit through higher process and lowering cost but smaller and medium sized producers are battling to maintain some equilibrium.

Andrew Opie, Food and Sustainability Policy Director at the British Retail Consortium said he expects food inflation to lower to single digits.Minette Batters, President of the National Union of Farmers said the main problem is uncertainty and she gives specific examples.Windfarms being built but cannot be connected to the National Grid.The UK Home Secretary, Suella Braverman says 'we don't need migrant labour we can train our own people'. Grow your own or employ experienced labour that can do the job required right away?James Cleverly, Foreign Secretary in the UK says that packaging will contain a statement on a label "Not for Sale in the EU" whuch he says is part of the agreement with the EU under the Northern Ireland Protocol.Peru is now the third largest producer of blueberries  behind the US and China.Farm to Fork Summit in Downing Street this week examining food supply chain resilience. Minette Batters said that food supply chains are very vulnerable. Rishi Sunak PM said he would welcome mor migrant workers to solve the food industry problems.Sue Pritchard, CEO Food, Farming and Countryside Commission says food production has consolidated  with a small number of agribusinesses that is skewing the market. Listen to the plans that Sue Pritchard puts forward to address food security. She wants a national conversation.Stelantis owns four big car brands Vauxhall, Peurgot being two of them. They want the UK Government to renegotiate the Brexit agreement to keep production in the UK. Tariffs are the problem post Brexit.The SMMT has already noted a decline in British Car Manufacturing after Brexit.Without new gigafactories the electric vehicle manufacturing is unlikely to progress.Elon Musk has decided to advertise Tessla Cars something he has so far declined to do.Tyre Manufacturers under pressure to develop cleaner tyres without 6PPDD.Will the US Government default on its payments? What will be the consequences if the debt ceiling is not lifted? June 1st is the deadline to sort this

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About Tony Hines and the Chain Reaction Podcast – All About Supply Chain Advantage

I have been researching and writing about supply chains for over 25 years. I wrote my first book on supply chain strategies in the early 2000s. The latest edition is published in 2024 available from Routledge, Amazon and all good book stores. Each week we have special episodes on particular topics relating to supply chains. We have a weekly news round up every Saturday at 12 noon. All things impacting global supply chains in that week, so come and join us on the Chain Reaction podcast. I look forward to seeing you there.

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