Publications

Despite increasing clouds on the horizon, there remain several bright spots for export opportunities in emerging markets.

US economic growth started to slow down last year, with GDP expected to expand 2.3% in 2019 and 1.7% in 2020.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador of the the leftist Morena party governs with a strong political mandate, as a Morena-led coalition has a majority in both houses of Congress.

As in 2019, Canada´s GDP growth is expected to remain below its long-term trend in 2020 due to sluggish domestic demand and lower export growth.

A hard Brexit and an escalation of EU-US trade disputes are downside risks for export-dependent food companies in the olives/olive oil and meat segments.

In the food retail sector smaller and independent businesses are struggling to remain profitable due to fierce competition and high price pressure.

Food sales growth continues, and the economic impact of the USMCA agreement on consumers and food supply chains is expected to be relatively small.

Despite efforts of food exporters to diversify shipments away from Britain a hard Brexit remains a major threat, potentially leading to more insolvencies.

In the Belgian food retail segment a comprehensive price war cannot be ruled out for the future, potentially forcing many businesses out of the market.

The ongoing drought has put additional pressure on margins industrywide due to higher input costs, and many businesses are struggling to break-even.