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T
he hospitality industry breathed a sigh of relief in September when the CGA Pres- tige foodservice price index showed a dip in the wholesale foodservice inflation rate to 6.5% after a 9.3% year-on-year rise in August. While Prestige Purchasing chief executive Shaun Allen believes this is a sign of things to come, he’s also advising operators not to be overly optimistic. “Prices are not typically fall- ing at the moment,” he says, “but year-on-year inflation is, as we are not currently seeing the high price rises that characterised the equiva- lent period of last year. Prices may ease if the exchange rate situation improves, but there is broadly a nine-month lag for that to happen.
“Purchase tracking let a client identify falling GPs with a new member of staff
serving larger portions” Martin Hudson
www.thecaterer.com Technology Prospectus 2018 | 43
Inflation has showed signs of easing in the final quarter of 2017, but hospitality operators remain under huge pressure to keep their costs under control. Elly Earls finds out how technology can help with everything from reducing admin time to gauging how customers feel about a business
“The drop in inflation is because we are effectively moving back to inflation caused by natural market and economic conditions, rather than being driven by unusual and sharp currency movement as we experienced follow- ing the referendum.”
In terms of specific products, salmon prices
have been dropping and are at their lowest for a year. Sugar prices too are very low, due in part to the removal of quotas on production. How- ever, food oil prices are high due to disease in growing regions, particularly Spain and Italy, while dairy product prices remain very high and volatile, primarily due to a lack of supply, most notably in butter and cream.
Prestige is currently forecasting aver- age foodservice price inflation over the next 12 months of 3.8% on food and non-alcoholic beverages. The main factors set to affect food prices over that period, according to Allen, are the Brexit negotiations and their impact on the exchange rate, the ability to utilise non- UK workers, business rates and the national minimum wage, as well as the usual supply and demand influences and weather impacts. According to Lynx Purchasing’s most recent market forecast, in a market where consumer spending is also under pressure and industry analysts are forecasting more use of targeted deals, vouchers and special offers to encourage
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