Food industry less optimistic about sales growth

Entrepreneurs in the food industry are less positive about expected sales growth in the second quarter of 2023 compared with the previous year. Only 16 percent of entrepreneurs now expect an increase, compared with nearly 30 percent last year, recent figures from CBS show.

The edible oils and fats industry shows the largest decrease in sales expectations, while the fish processing industry is slightly more optimistic. Moreover, the number of entrepreneurs expecting further price increases has fallen sharply in almost all branches of the food industry.

Fish processing industry

The fish processing industry is the only industry in which a growing number of entrepreneurs foresee a sales increase. In contrast, the edible oils and fats industry experienced the largest decline, with a drop from 50.3 percent to 17.9 percent in sales optimism.

Price growth softens

There is also a general decline in the number of business owners expecting price increases. The percentage has dropped from nearly 75 percent last year to 27.2 percent this year. The animal feed industry and the fruit and vegetable processing industry have the highest percentage of entrepreneurs expecting price contraction.

Lower workforce growth

Expected workforce growth in the food industry is also declining. Only 4.0 percent of entrepreneurs forecast an increase in the second quarter of 2023, compared with 12.1 percent in the same quarter last year.

Occupancy rate down slightly

The food industry capacity utilization rate decreased slightly from 82.8 percent to 82.0 percent in the current quarter. The edible oils and fats industry had the highest capacity utilization rate (90.2 percent), while the fish processing industry had the lowest capacity utilization rate (77.3 percent).