In the midst of another major crisis, food and drink’s biggest trade body is setting out a new vision of the future of the industry.
That vision was outlined today by Karen Betts, who took over from the famously straight-talking Ian Wright as CEO of the FDF in January. Speaking at the FDF’s annual conference, Betts emphasised the need for industry to work more closely with government in tackling the many shared crises.
The emerging plan is to strike out beyond Defra (often felt to closet the FDF and the wider industry) and build stronger relations with other departments like the Treasury, health and trade, to try and expand its reach and influence in a way that can better serve industry aims.
It marks a distinct change in style from predecessor Ian Wright, who was characterised by his more confrontational approach – and described as “a one-man wrecking ball” by one conference attendee today.
By contrast, Betts is a seasoned diplomat, intent on employing a more nuanced approach to winning over government. Sources in Whitehall know how effective this can be. One trade department official described her as “one of the fiercest and most effective lobbyists we’ve ever come across” following her work at the Scotch Whisky Association. It suggests the FDF’s crucial lobbying role – one that was developed under Wright – looks set to remain.
Betts’ first objective is to establish a national food security council: a cross-government body charged with co-ordinating all food-related policies across Whitehall. It is no secret the government’s approach can often be disjointed. It is one reason why the FSA revised its strategy last week to do a similar thing.
For Betts, the council would act as an “overarching body” that looks across all food-related policies at a strategic level and says: “OK that absolutely has to be pursued because that that climate target is unmissable. But actually, we could pause on that thing, because it’s not critical. And we can come back to it when there’s a bit of time and space,” she told The Grocer this week.
Next month should also see the release of the FDF’s new trade strategy, a new piece of work that will be presented to government as a roadmap for how government and the industry can work together to leverage the UK’s evolving trade policy to the benefit of the sector.
It is set to propose solutions such as what mechanisms could help the sector quickly adapt to future crises like Ukraine, how tariffs can be adapted to defend against supply shocks, and three in-depth analyses the government should conduct ahead of any trade deals to assess whether they will benefit or threaten the industry.
It seems there are now two clear camps of issues for Betts and the wider industry in their future dealings with the government. The first ‘easy’ camp includes issues such boosting exports, net zero and levelling up, all of which offer plenty of landing space for the food industry and government to comfortably agree and work together.
The second ‘harder’ camp covers issues such as immigration (and its potential to help alleviate labour shortages), food standards in trade deals, and minimising red tape on post-Brexit checks – each of which throws up sharp conflicts between the government’s policy mission and industry priorities.
The approach Betts takes, including the issues she opts to select from each of these two camps, will be both crucial to her success and the future influence of the wider food sector within Whitehall.
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