THE cereals industry has been urged not to sleepwalk into Brexit by AHDB this week.

Businesses at every level of the supply chain need to take steps to improve competitiveness, said the AHDB’s chief strategy officer, Tom Hind.

The plea comes as AHDB launched its latest Horizon report, Post-Brexit prospects for UK grains, at Cereals 2017 in Lincolnshire on Wednesday.

The report explores UK’s position in the global marketplace for wheat and barley, profiling the competitors the UK grain industry would face if seeking to access and exploit new market opportunities.

It concludes that as a small-scale exporter and relatively high-cost producer, opportunities to compete in global feed grain markets will be limited and highly dependent on market conditions.

With ongoing uncertainty about the economic sustainability of UK arable production, it concludes with five key recommendations for industry to prepare for and drive change: improve competitiveness; drive productivity; businesses in the same supply chain can’t exist in isolation; improve consistency of UK grain quality; and get to grips with potential grain and product niches at home and abroad.

Mr Hind said: “We started this piece of work with the intention of identifying where new market opportunities may lie but as we delved deeper, it became more and more apparent that while the demand is there, generally we are not in a situation to compete in global commodity grain markets.

“There are niches to exploit, but getting fit to compete in our own market has to be the priority.

“Uncertainty around the detail of Brexit is no excuse for inertia, we need to start discussing what the cereals supply chain will look like in the longer term, from what we put in the ground to what leaves the port and what people want on their plates.”

Lead analyst Jack Watts, who co-authored the report, said: “Competitiveness and resulting financial resilience is a key theme when it comes to embracing the challenges Brexit poses for the industry, as this new Horizon report details.

“Relentless cost management is a key part of building competitiveness – not simply cutting costs at all costs. AHDB can help farmers focus on competitiveness through peer-to-peer discussion and learning, facilitated by the Monitor Farm network and FarmBench benchmarking tool.”

Allan Wilkinson, Head of Agrifoods for HSBC, is supportive of the Horizon report’s recommendation for businesses across the supply chain to move to a more collaborative model.

He said: “Businesses can’t operate in isolation, especially now. Security of demand, supply, price and cost should be driving a collaborative approach.

“It is whole supply chains that compete for ultimate consumer demand rather than individuals looking to make a fast buck out of their customers or suppliers.”

To download Post-Brexit prospects for UK grains, visit the website at www.ahdb.org.uk/Brexit or telephone 02476 478730.