EU food and drink sector outperforms overall manufacturing sector in Q3 | Progresiv
Turnover and production from the food and drink industry in the EU outperformed the overall manufacturing sector in Q3 and represented the biggest quarterly jump in growth in 2016, according to new figures. In the period July to September 2016, food and drink production (adjusted for price) increased by one percent on the previous month, marking the biggest increase of the year, according to figures from FoodDrinkEurope. 
Turnover was up 1.5 percent on the previous month, also the biggest uplift of the year, according to the EU trade body, whose members include Danone, Coca-Cola and Tate & Lyle. In Q3, the food and drink industry in the EU performed better than the overall
manufacturing industry.
The figures will be a welcome boon for the food and drink sector, as it comes amid an EU in which some of its biggest economies, such as France, are suffering while growth is expected to slow in Germany next year.
Food manufacturing prices were up by 0.9 percent in Q3 while employment in the period was up by 0.2 percent.
Overall, employment in the food and drink industry remained on a growth trend, and in the long term, continues to outperform the average employment level growth in the manufacturing industry.
While it is difficult to detect overall trends from quarterly data, some of the best performing economies in the period were from the Eastern European countries of Poland, Bulgaria and Romania compared to the previous year. Austria, the Czech Republic and Estonia suffered the biggest fall in turnover compared to the previous year.
Retail trade in foodstuffs increased in July, decreased in August, and increased again in September. Year-on-year, retail trade growth in foodstuffs and total retail trade increased equally by 2 percent compared to September 2015. Consumer prices were 0.4 percent lower compared to Q2 2016. (www.foodingredientsfirst.com)
