< Previous10 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT Years after Brexit, complaints over importing and exporting food and drink to and from the UK continue, with statistics creating further concern despite small wins in trade agreements. Post-Brexit, importing and exporting food and drink to and from the UK has been anything but simple, seeing widespread complaints across the industry. Administrative and regularity barriers have presented novel obstacles and costs, led some firms to stop exporting to or from the country, and have seen constant postponements for the implementation of new rules as the sector struggles to respond. Meanwhile, headlines have highlighted the £200m spent by Britain’s food industry on post-Brexit Export Health Certificates since January 2021, major border delays and lack of trained staff, and food samples of products entering the nation being sent back to Europe for testing due to a lack of capacity in Britain. All this comes as conflicts in eastern Europe and the Middle East escalate, impacting supply chains. The latest figures, for the first half of 2024, show a decline in UK food and drink exports as calls heighten to remove bureaucracy and Trials and tribulations in trade Trials and tribulations in trade 12 ÁFood & Drink International 11 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT © stock.adobe.com/Markus Mainka12 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT strengthen trade with the EU — the UK’s biggest trading partner. According to the Food & Drink Federation’s (FDF) trade snapshot report, food and drink export values fell 6.1% to £11.2bn in the first six months of 2024, driven by a fall in alcohol exports, with food and soft drink exports remaining steady. Ireland remained the UK’s largest single export market, rising 1.1% to £2bn. However, overall exports to the EU have dropped by a quarter (23.6%) in volume terms compared to H1 2023, while exports to the rest of the world are up 0.8%. The importance of the EU is stressed in FDF research, which receives 59.4% of all food and drink exports, with more than half (59%) of manufacturers saying that the UK’s relationship with the EU should be a top priority for the new government. Trade is getting more challenging with the EU for British food and drink businesses, with growing bureaucracy as additional checks come into force. This includes the second phase of border changes introduced in April raising fees for businesses; an increase in Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) check rates for meat, milk, and fish products; and further implementation of border controls applying to fresh produce from 1 July 2025. These regulations expand administrative burden for companies, reduce flexibility and increase costs for food and drink, hitting small businesses in particular. Illustrating the impact of such post- Brexit regulations are Export Health Certificates contributing to declines in beef and poultry imports in the first half of the year. To counter the effects of regulation, an SPS agreement is one option being called for, generating arguments for and against across the political spectrum, with positives of reducing checks. Reviewing and simplifying the use of Common User Charge on imports has also been highlighted to help businesses. Calls to address mandatory GB-wide ‘not for EU’ labelling, threatening further growth, especially to Ireland, meanwhile, have been heard, as the Department of Environment and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) announced it will not be proceeding with the introduction of the labelling on a mandatory basis in Great Britain on 1 October 2024. Away from Europe, there are some more positive figures, as exports to India rose by 11.9%, reaching £127.2m in H1 2024. With increased market access via a free trade agreement (FTA), there remains potential to boost trade with India. Another market being eyed for expansion for UK exporters is the UAE, with exports growing by 2.4% in the first half of the year, to £202.4m. Concurrently, imports continued to expand, by 3.2% to £31.1bn in H1 2024, with Morocco (29.4%), South Africa (24%) and New Zealand (22.8%) marking the largest increases. However, with 70.8% of the UK’s imported food and drink coming from the EU, there remains many barriers to address to ensure the UK’s food security, with FDF research showing that, for 47% of members, administrative costs are a barrier to imports. Offering some optimism to exporters are new trade pacts and market access. Just last month (October 2024) it was announced that British poultry would once again be able to reach South African tables, after securing market access estimated to bring up to £160m to industry over the next five years. The development will allow UK traders to export poultry to South Africa for the first time in eight years, after restrictions were placed on UK imports following outbreaks of avian influenza. South Africa has historically been an important market for UK poultry, with exports of poultry worth over £37m in 2016. Meanwhile, access has been secured to the US market for UK beetroot growers. For the US, this will allow processors to diversify their supply to satisfy demand for high-quality beetroot outside the US growing season, giving American consumers access to beetroot all year round from producers in the UK. Industry estimates this new access will be worth approximately £150,000 per year in increased exports. Moreover, in a win for Food & Drink International 13 www.fdiforum.net IMPORT AND EXPORT Scotch Whisky, Brazil recently granted the product special protected status. This new protection means the Brazilian legal system recognises the special status of Scotch Whisky, making it easier to tackle counterfeits and giving distillers the confidence to up their exports to Brazil. This new status, known as a Geographical Indication (GI), could be worth around £25m over five years and will give distillers better access to South America’s largest economy, strengthening international recognition and intellectual property for Scotch Whisky. These steps forward come as the UK is set to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — a trade bloc of 11 countries — by the end of the year, giving exporters the D Davies Turner choice of trading via the bloc or existing bilateral agreements, with additional market access secured for a range of products. A new opportunity will be raised with Malaysia, for instance, with no existing bilateral agreement in place. While the success of these agreements is yet to be seen, the UK will continue to face the fallout of Brexit. © stock.adobe.com/Artinun14 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT Plastic is the most convenient material with which to package food goods, but its convenience has come with significant cost on the environment. W ith just five to ten per cent of plastic being recycled on a global scale, most plastic literally goes to waste, sitting in landfill heaps or ending up as more ocean pollution our planet doesn’t need. It’s an ecological danger that any food manufacturer must be wary of when considering product packaging. But thankfully, alternatives to petroleum-based plastics (which can take 500 years to decompose) are being investigated and developed to take the weight of single-use, non-biodegradable plastics off our consciences and, more importantly, the rest of the natural world. Developments into eco-friendly food packaging have led to greater choice for companies that wish to avoid using plastic at a cost at a cost Convenience ConvenienceFood & Drink International 15 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT wherever possible. But in many cases, this isn’t a simple swap. We’ve come to rely on plastic for its qualities as a strong, versatile and lightweight material, and a green alternative that covers all these bases while being recyclable is yet to be discovered. Take compostable packaging, which breaks down into its original components over time. In its favour, it can often be disposed of in a household compost bin and doesn’t have to be washed beforehand. However, the downside to its ability to naturally biodegrade is that doesn’t have the same barrier strength or contaminant protection as plastic, and it cannot be vacuum sealed for freshness and shelf-life either. Biodegradable packaging is also available, which isn’t always compostable. This type of packaging is only eco-friendly when disposed of under the correct industrial conditions, while at-home recycling is not yet an option. When disposal is handled improperly, biodegradable plastics break down into microplastics, which not only contaminate animal habitats and the ocean, but can also 16 Á monticellllo© stock.adobe.com/16 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT find their way into the human digestive system through water and air contamination. When looking into bioplastics as a green packaging alternative, it’s important to be aware that they aren’t all cut from the same cloth in terms of eco-friendliness. The term can refer to naturally sourced biodegradable or compostable plastics but may also be applied to petroleum-based plastics which can biodegrade far more quickly than the typical kind, and all manner of permutations in between. For instance, one branch known as ‘drop-ins’ contain bio-based, but non- biodegradable plastics. In short, bioplastic is no one thing but a family of materials, each with different qualities and applications. And even opting for a biodegradable packaging material doesn’t guarantee zero-waste. Biodegradation requires the correct environment, considering aspects such as temperatures and levels of aeration, in order for microorganisms to break down the plastic’s natural materials into water, carbon dioxide, or other such substances. This often means bioplastic containers must be thrown out with household waste at the consumer end, unless they are made of easily compostable materials. They also remain pollutants if they end up in oceans, left without the correct conditions for biodegradation. On the positive side, like any plastic, bioplastic forms a solid barrier against potential contaminants and prevents food spoilage or quality reduction. Although they are still single-use plastics, and thus pose an environmental risk, this consideration may be balanced with plastic’s prevention of food waste, and the fact it is lightweight, meaning lower energy consumption for transport. Opting for bioplastics which are both biodegradable and bio-based (which means made from plant-derived biomass) is the greenest option when plastic packaging is necessary. These can be made from a wealth of natural resources, including cellulose, chitin or even bacteria. Polylactic acid (PLA) is made from starchy crops such as potatoes, wheat or corn, their starches separated by milling, then heated with enzymes or acid to transform the starch into dextrose. The dextrose is then fermented until it becomes lactic acid, the molecules of which are then polymerised to create PLA. The resulting material has similar qualities to PET, that widely used petrochemical plastic, and doesn’t require specialised equipment for processing. Other bio-based and biodegradable plastics include polyhydroxalkanoate (PHA) which can be produced by exposing bacteria to a limited supply of nutrients like oxygen, BAG SEALING MACHINES RM Sealers remain a leading British manufacturer and supplier of high quality Bag Sealing Machines, also known as Rotary Band Sealers and Impulse Sealers. Call 01442 843387 to speak to a member of our team SEALERS © www.rmsealers.co.ukFood & Drink International 17 www.fdiforum.net PACKAGING SPOTLIGHT encouraging it to grow PHA granules inside its cells as food. Certain strains of bacteria have also been discovered which don’t need this method of nutrient limitation, producing PHA through their own cellular growth spurts. Waste materials such as plant oils, fatty acids and simple carbohydrates can also be provided to PHA-producing bacteria, reducing the need for waste disposal and instead making them a resource, recycling them into greener plastic production. Scientists have even taken to placing the genes from this bacteria into corn plants, to create a genetically modified plastic-growing crop. However PHA plastic comes to be, like PLA it is safe and versatile enough to use in food packaging. Even when sourcing bioplastics to replace the fossil-fuel derived variety, it must be kept in mind that not all providers are equally eco-friendly. Trustworthy companies will make their products from recycled content wherever possible, ensuring they will decompose effectively in a short amount of time under the proper conditions. It’s also well worth remembering that plastics, bio or not, aren’t always the best choice in terms of suitability, sustainability or cost. For most shipping purposes, paper is significantly cheaper than plastic, while cardboard is durable enough to protect the majority of products in transport, unless they are fragile. These materials are also much easier to break down into pulp and then recycle. Bioplastics made from recycled materials are yet to become commercially available, whereas ninety to 100 per cent recycled paper products are widely available on the consumer market. Wherever plastic can be avoided, opting for alternative materials remains the best option for a green-minded food manufacturer. Glass and food-safe metals, while far more expensive than paper, are more easily recycled than plastic and can be relied on to provide the same sanitary durability. However, in cases where plastic is the only option for the guaranteed quality and safety of a food product, containers and packaging can be made in wide varieties from bioplastics, with PLA being a favourite in the food industry. Advances into greener ways to brace and protect food products, while keeping them fresh for consumers, are under constant development in the urgency for wider applications of planet-friendly packaging. BENCHTOP BAG SEALING MACHINE IMPULSE BAG SEALING MACHINE HORIZONTAL BAG SEALING MACHINE VERTICAL BAG SEALING MACHINE © stock.adobe.com/DedMityay © stock.adobe.com/Arsenii18 Food & Drink International www.fdiforum.net KITE PACKAGING Q&A Can you tell us a little about Kite Packaging and what you do? Kite Packaging is a prominent UK packaging supplier, offering a wide range of innovative and eco-friendly packaging to businesses of all sizes. We were founded in 2001 with a unique vision of becoming the industry’s first employee-owned business. Since then, we have gone from strength to strength, earning multiple awards for our hard work and a spot on the Sundays Times ‘Profit track 100’ list. Our extensive range of over 2,500 stock products and tens of thousands of bespoke lines spans a variety of packaging solutions. These include boxes, tape, pallet wrap, void fill, and food packaging to name a few, all designed with sustainability in mind. We understand every business is different and have curated a diverse selection to help us service a wide array of industries. This allows us to meet the distinct requirements of our clients. What types of food packaging does Kite Packaging supply? We supply both primary and tertiary food packaging solutions. Our primary range is designed for takeaways, deliveries and on-the-go food and drink consumption. It features items such as takeaway boxes, bowls, trays, and printed pizza and fish and chips boxes. We also offer wooden cutlery, coffee cups, cake boxes, and paper bags. All these products are designed with sustainability in mind. They are manufactured using minimal energy from renewable resources and are fully recyclable. Many are also biodegradable and compostable. This makes them ideal alternatives in light of the single- use plastics ban that came into effect on 1st October 2023. Our industrial food packaging solutions meet the highest hygiene and quality standards, accommodating chilled, ambient, and frozen goods. Q&A Kite Packaging We have a chat with Kite Packaging to see how the packaging landscape has been changing, and how they’ve been helping their customers navigate it.Food & Drink International 19 www.fdiforum.net KITE PACKAGING Q&A Aside from wholesale discounts and bulk ordering, we offer a number of supply solutions, including stock and serve, JIT, direct line feed and vendor managed packaging to ensure customers’ needs are catered to. Businesses can also sign up for a credit account, giving them the freedom to buy their packaging supplies whenever they need and pay for these at a later date. For major multi-site accounts, we have a team of dedicated key account managers assisted by a team of highly experienced packaging technologists. This ensures our customers get what they need, when they need it with the best possible outcome. What’s the latest news from your company? We recently surpassed 50,000 reviews on Trust Pilot with an overall excellent rating and 4.7 TrustScore. This makes us the highest-ranked and most- rated packaging supplier in the UK. It’s wonderful to see our customers consistently highlighting our fast delivery, competitive prices and vast selection of products as key reasons for their positive experiences. Their feedback is a heart-warming recognition of our hard work and dedication to ensuring every customer receives the best service and solutions possible. We also won the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year award at the UK Packaging Awards for our Management Degree Apprenticeship Programme. This initiative reflects our ongoing commitment to nurturing talent, investing in the future of the packaging industry, and contributing positively to society. We’re proud and remain dedicated to supporting both our people and our environment through sustainable and impactful initiatives. Here’s what the judges had to say: “Kite won Packaging company of the year in 2023 and has continued its focus on its staff. With an investment of over £1 million in technical training, Kite have made a bold statement that their people are their priority and their future. Not just training but also funding their people in degree courses at Sheffield Hallam and Aston universities to ensure future Kite leaders are being developed with high level skills. “The investment is a big statement of the faith Kite has in its people, a policy that is paying Kite back big time with over 50,000 positive Trustpilot reviews.” For more information or to get in touch with Kite Packaging, visit www.kitepackaging.co.uk, email enquiries@kitepackaging.co.uk or call +44 (0) 24 7642 0065 These include corrugated and foil insulated box liners, ice packs, thermal pallet covers, and temperature- controlled pouches. Bulk food protection products include ventilated and blue pallet wrap, available in hand and machine wraps, ideal for businesses of all sizes. Ventilated pallet wrap promotes airflow to reduce moisture build up, extending the freshness of perishable goods. Additionally, our vacuum packaging range includes chamber machines, pouches, and sealers, offering complete solutions for industrial food suppliers to maintain freshness and extend shelf life. How do your industrial food packaging products comply with food safety regulations and industry standards? We ensure compliance through rigorous adherence to best practices. Our warehouse has earned an AA rating for BRCGS accreditation, emphasising our commitment to maintaining the highest food-grade standards for the storage of our food packaging. We participate in unannounced BRCGS audits to ensure we consistently implement robust food safety practices and procedures in our facilities. This allow us to provide our customers with reliable and compliant packaging solutions with confidence. What options do you offer for bulk ordering of packaging? All our products are available for bulk purchase orders, with discounted price points for increasing pack and pallet quantities. Next >