Provision Trade Federation boss sets out his plans

• Trade body’s priorities
• ‘Trusted circle of members’ 
• ‘Products made and traded by PTF members’

For somebody who has spent most of his working life in either London or Brussels, it’s perhaps no surprise that Andrew Kuyk makes a habit of returning to a topic that has dominated the news agenda in recent months – Brexit.

But press the former Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs civil servant on how the UK’s departure from the EU will play out, and he confesses to being as much in the dark as anyone else.

“What I can say with confidence is that Brexit doesn’t simply mean Brexit, as Theresa May would have us believe,” he assures.

“As a major member of the EU club for 40 years, leaving presents us with a very unique set of circumstances. There’s a very wide spectrum of possible outcomes on the table.”

For all the uncertainty ahead, it’s easy to get a sense that Kuyk once again relishes being in a position to influence policy, having only taken over as director general of the Provision Trade Federation (PTF) in April.

He is under no illusion, however, about the challenging times ahead, both for his organisation’s members and the wider food industry.

With a focus on the meat and dairy sectors, the PTF has acted as a trading hub for its members since 1887 – providing market and technical support along the way.

Kuyk says he “somewhat opportunistically” took on the director general role, after predecessor Terry Jones left to become director general of the National Farmers Union.

Prior to his departure, Jones – who described the PTF as one of the industry’s “best secrets” – set out a three-year vision to grow the organisation and improve its value to members.

While Kuyk remains adamant that the vision remains in place, and providing value to members is an overarching aim, he is also in little doubt that some of the trade body’s priorities have now changed.

Trade body’s priorities (Back to top)

“We’ve relaunched the website, and have continued to develop a weekly newsletter, which was first initiated by Terry and has gone down very well with our members,” he says.

“However, now we have the referendum result, we need to build in some new objectives that weren’t explicitly there before, so we can get the best possible outcome for our members.”

One new priority that has emerged, Kuyk believes, is the need to work with other stakeholders and trade associations to get the best deal for the food industry.

But, rather than speaking through one delegated voice on all issues, he advocates that those closest to the respective topics at hand represent the industry when called upon.

“With its size and reach, it would be logical for the Food and Drink Federation [FDF] to lead on certain issues, with others present,” Kuyk explains.

“But given our specialism in meat and cheese, there would be times when it would be logical for us to represent the industry.

“Fundamentally though, the idea would be that we would talk to each other first, and reach a common position.”

Kuyk also believes trade bodies will have to be much faster and flexible in the way they communicate with members as the Brexit negotiations unfold.

“I suspect that the typical model of the government putting out a consultation paper, and giving industry a week or two to respond, will not apply in this case,” he warns.

“It’s more likely that they will inform us that there’s been a proposal regarding, say, dairy tariffs, and ask for a response by the next day.

‘Trusted circle of members’ (Back to top)

“Therefore, we need to have a trusted circle of members that we can pick up the phone to and ask ‘look, this is on the table – do we go for it or not?’” Kuyk adds.

With years of Whitehall experience behind him, Kuyk is confident that his negotiating abilities will benefit the industry.

“I know how EU negotiations work – in fact, I was given a CBE for that very thing – so I think I can make a real contribution.

“And in some aspects, the size of our organisation works in our favour as well. Without knocking the FDF, if a government minister rings them up and asks what difference does 5% make on the bacon tariff, they are not going to know. We can offer more specialised knowledge.”

While Brexit may result in what Kuyk believes are some positive outcomes – namely reform of the Common Agricultural Policy – he doesn’t doubt that the current period of uncertainty, not helped by the fall in sterling, is creating further pressure on food producers already embattled by the multiples’ ongoing price war.

He feels the situation is unsustainable. “There is a very real limit to how long suppliers can go on absorbing cost increases and not pass them on.

“We’ve got this very strange competitive environment, where it’s the opposite of first-mover advantage. The first retailer to put their prices up will see the footfall go elsewhere.

“Obviously, nobody advocates that food should be more expensive, but we are getting to the point where there are real costs there, which are not being properly reflected.”

Another challenge facing PTF members that “isn’t going to go away”, according to Kuyk, is the food industry’s role in combatting obesity.

“Without wishing to shift blame elsewhere, I would say that the products made and traded by PTF members, such as butter, cheese and dairy, have been around for years,” says Kuyk.

‘Products made and traded by PTF members’ (Back to top)

“They haven’t fundamentally changed, and people aren’t particularly eating more of them.”

He fears that the government’s decision to impose taxation on sugary soft drinks could signal the start of a “one size fits all” approach that could implicate other categories.

“I’m not a nutritionist, but I know how important cheese is for remedying calcium deficiency and providing micronutrients.

“So, if the government starts saying ‘fat is bad, stop eating it’, there will be other implications.

“Experience has taught me that simplistic solutions, however well intended, always bring unintended consequences.

“So, without wanting to put myself in the firing line, when it comes to the debates around obesity, around nutrient profiling and around marketing, the government does need to engage widely with the industry.”

And it’s that engagement between government and trade organisations that Kuyk clearly thrives on – which inevitably leads him back to the subject of Brexit.

“There are no rules over how we leave Europe. There is no manual that says ‘this is how we do it’.

“Fundamentally, I think it will be a missed opportunity to simply say we must be focused on getting back to where we were. Now we’ve got a chance to change something, we need to look at what it is we want to change.”

Find out more about the challenges and opportunities posed by Brexit for the food and farming industries in this exclusive video with Andrew Kuyk.