season, to a fresh high, tied to larger deliveries to Asia. The USA and Brazil could each export 60 million tonnes or more for the first time in their respective local marketing seasons. As regards prices, IGC note that the current Grains and Oilseeds


Index (GOI) stands at 190 (January 2000 = 100) and has fallen by 5.5 per cent compared with a year earlier. There were, however, significant differences between the different grain and oilseeds crops.


MODERN SLAVERY I suppose that, when the conversation turns to slavery, one’s first thoughts are of scenes in the old American South or, particularly in the present context, the controversy over the removal in several US cities, of statues of Confederate civil war heroes such as Stonewall Jackson or Robert E. Lee. However, it has recently become apparent that slavery as an institution is far from extinct albeit on a less institutional scale than was the case in the American South prior to that country’s civil war. Cases have been reported where individuals have been trafficked, frequently from Eastern Europe, to work without wages in small businesses without recourse to the legal processes laid down for employment. In light of such cases, the Modern Slavery Act 2015 was introduced. The Modern Slavery Act gives law enforcement the tools to fight modern slavery, ensure perpetrators can receive suitably severe punishments for these appalling crimes and enhance support and protection for victims. It received the Royal Assent on Thursday 26 March 2015 and, amongst its provisions, it provides for criminals convicted of human trafficking and modern slavery to be sentenced to prison for life. My attention was drawn to this legislation by the statement,


published in accordance with the Modern Slavery Act 2015 which sets out the steps taken by the NWF Group and its subsidiaries during the 2015-16 financial year. In the statement, the NWF Group acknowledges the Group’s responsibility ‘to guard against modern slavery and human trafficking and are committed to eliminating any risk of it in our supply chain’. The Group goes on to note that, following a review of the Group’s current policies, it believes that its present arrangements ‘offer sufficient protection to all workers’. In addition to policies that protect all workers from mistreatment,


the Group has ‘a robust and effective Whistleblowing Policy which we are confident encompasses employees who wish to raise modern slavery and/or human trafficking as an issue’. The Group operates strictly in accordance with UK employment legislation and as such it has ‘minimised much of the risk of modern slavery and/or human trafficking being present in our supply chains’. In addition, the Group has sent a questionnaire to all major suppliers


across its three constituent divisions: NWF Agriculture, Boughey Distribution and NWF Fuels. All responses having been considered, the Group states that, ‘so far none of the responses have raised any cause for concern’. As part of its investigations the Group has carried out a recent audit on the agency that supplies 100 per cent of its warehouse staff, part of which audit involved investigating ‘what the agency are doing to combat modern slavery and human trafficking’. From the responses, the Group is ‘satisfied that the agency has reduced the risk


PAGE 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017 FEED COMPOUNDER


to a satisfactory level’. In addition, the Group intends to increase the frequency of these audits to once a year. Each of the Group’s three divisions ‘has undertaken an exercise


to identify where they feel modern slavery and human trafficking could most likely occur in their business’. This process sought to identify the high-risk areas on which the Group would then focus its efforts. Two key risks were identified: the purchase by NWF Agriculture of raw materials from farms in the UK, and the use of agency workers, primarily by Boughey Distribution. In order to minimise the risk presented by the purchase of raw


materials, NWF Agriculture has taken steps to investigate suppliers, as previously described. The Division is also reviewing procurement processes to ‘include a request for suppliers to provide their policies on modern slavery and human trafficking before they are placed on our approved supplier lists.’ All businesses across the Group use agency workers. However,


with the exception of Boughey Distribution, usage is minimal. In order to reduce this risk to an acceptable level, the Group has increased the frequency of its audits to ensure that ‘modern slavery and human trafficking is addressed directly with the agencies’. In addition, training to ensure a high level of understanding across the Group, senior executives and other appropriate staff attended a training session with external legal advisors who provided an overview of the Modern Slavery Act and advice on the next steps. Other members of staff also attended training where necessary, including trade body events and a visit from ACAS. Across the Group, the key risks to the business have been identified


and the Group has sought to diminish these using ‘pragmatic and reasonable solutions’. This year, the Group has focussed on what were perceived to be its biggest areas of risk and ‘we are confident that our current stance is sufficient to reduce the risk to the Group’. However, NWF understands that the process of combatting modern slavery and human trafficking will be ongoing; the Group will endeavour to reduce the risk of modern slavery and human trafficking being present in the Group’s supply chain year-on-year. To date, I have seen no other company issuing any similar


statement but I shall look out for them to see whether other companies involved in the feed industry are adopting a similar approach. In the meantime, this is a relatively new field requiring companies’ attention and this column will seek to pass on policy developments as they evolve.


FORFARMERS RECOVERY ForFarmers, the group that owns ForFarmers UK Ltd, the former BOCM Pauls, has reported on its first half results for the period ending 30 June 2017. The highlights of the report show that the group increased its feed


volumes by 3.6 per cent to 4.7 million tonnes; this was based on an increase in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany but a decrease in the UK. However, the first signs of recovery in the UK agricultural sector had become visible, albeit that the short-term prospects were still uncertain. Net revenue had risen by 3.7 per cent to €1,110.6 million with an


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