Food industry optimistic about turnover development

Over 35 percent of entrepreneurs in the food industry expect higher turnover in the second quarter. Expectations have never been so high since the start of the current CBS publication series in 2012. Only 6 percent of entrepreneurs anticipate lower turnover compared to the first quarter, while 59 percent think turnover will remain the same. The high turnover expectations are related to the massively voiced expectation that prices in the food industry will rise in the second quarter. This is evident from an analysis of recent CBS business figures by our editors.

Flour industry leader 

In the flour industry, 64.3 percent of entrepreneurs anticipate a rise in turnover in the second quarter. In no other subsector of the food industry do so many entrepreneurs predict an increase in turnover. Other subsectors where turnover forecasts are high are the food oils and fats industry (50.3 percent), the fruit and vegetable processing industry (48.3 percent) and the slaughterhouses and meat products industry (40.2 percent). In the fish-processing industry, "only" 18 percent of entrepreneurs expect turnover to increase in the second quarter.

In the food industry, only 5.9 percent of entrepreneurs anticipate a decrease in turnover in the second quarter. In the edible oils and fats industry, and in the dairy industry, not a single entrepreneur anticipates a drop in turnover. The number of turnover pessimists is highest in the slaughterhouses and meat products industry (13.6 percent) and in the fish processing industry (12.0 percent). In the animal feed industry, nearly 18 percent of entrepreneurs predict a decrease in turnover.

Three quarters of food manufacturers predict higher prices in second quarter, none predict lower prices 

Substantially increased energy prices and increasing scarcity of raw materials as a result of the Ukraine war are causing price increases in the food industry. A total of 74.7 percent of entrepreneurs in the food industry expect prices to rise further in the second quarter. In the dairy industry, most entrepreneurs (87.2 percent) expect rising prices, followed by the bread and pasta industry (79.4 percent), the slaughterhouses and meat products industry (74.2 percent) and the fish processing industry (70.8 percent). Not a single subsector of the food industry had entrepreneurs who expect prices to fall in the second quarter.