Suppliers say they expect to carry the can for soaring Brexit costs, as another survey reveals 90% are stockpiling for a potential no-deal Brexit.
It also shows suppliers are already experiencing major increases in costs because of Brexit, with nearly half seeing their costs rise in the past two months by more than 3%.
However, the survey, carried out by retail consultancy GSCOP for the FDF, found 90% of suppliers did not expect to be able to pass their increased costs on to retailers.
The survey received more than 50 responses from retailers across grocery, bakery, meat & fish and chilled, of whom 50% had a turnover of more than £100m, and 45% more than £25m.
Read more: Businesses ‘may go bust’ in no-deal Brexit, says survey
Asked if they had been stockpiling for Brexit, 90% said yes.
Of those, 70% said they had stockpiled between one to five weeks’ worth of stock, while 20% said they had stockpiled six weeks’ or more of stock.
As for whether their costs had gone up in the past two months, 40% of suppliers said costs had risen by 1% to 2%, 45% said they had gone up by more than 3%, and 16% had seen costs increase by more than 5%.
“The key thing is that this is before Brexit has happened,” GSCOP director Ged Futter said. “It’s not taking into account factors such as potential currency devaluation, tariffs and rising labour costs, which could all mean the costs incurred so far are dwarfed by what’s to come.
“That’s why we are working with the Food & Drink Federation to talk to suppliers and ensure they are doing all they can to mitigate the risks,” Futter added.
“There is a legitimate fear that they won’t be able to pass these costs on to retailers but the message we want to get across is that suppliers cannot continue to absorb the price of Brexit.”
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