Food and drink
Tuesday June 30 2009
can bounce back
I read with great interest your article 'Act Now To Protect 10,000 Food And Drink Jobs, warns IBEC', (Irish Independent, June 23. The article, based on the recent report published by IBEC on the state of the Irish food and drink industry, does indeed make some interesting points. However, when reading its findings, it struck me that it is not all 'doom and gloom' for the sector, as many have an opportunity to counter higher operational costs through process improvement and waste reduction.
Some of the key points in the report were on external issues such as exchange rates, but your article doesn't recognise that there is ample opportunity for Irish companies to control their own competitiveness.
As is quite clear in the IBEC report, this industry is vital to the Irish economy and we feel there is a positive message to give that many companies within it can take practical steps to ensure their own competitiveness now and for the future.
Alan Braithwaite
Chairman, LCP Consulting
