Transition Penwith

Published by Cornwall Enterprise and prepared by Ruth Huxley, Food Industry Analyst. Sept 2008

Cornwall Enterprise recently published “The Distribution of Cornwall’s Food and Drink”, prepared by Ruth Huxley, Food Industry Analyst.

This is an in-depth study undertaken to investigate the reasons for distribution problems experienced by Cornwall’s agriculture and food businesses and to identify potential solutions.
 
Whilst this study focuses entirely on Cornwall, there is much valuable information which is likely to be relevant to many agriculture and food businesses throughout the region and, indeed, more widely.
 
The report provides a synopsis of why food distribution is a problem in Cornwall highlighting geography, topography and demographics. Seasonality, a large number of small businesses, diversity of products and the need for chilled or frozen storage and transportation are also significant factors and are probably all characteristics of “local food” production and distribution throughout the South West.
 
The results of a survey and of in-depth interviews are presented which confirm that distribution of food products within and beyond the county is highly complex and means different things to different people in the supply chain.
 
Interesting examples of some innovative distribution models used in the UK are presented and potential “ways forward” to overcome the problems identified are discussed. These include collaboration, consolidation, the role of technology, marketing and food miles & environmentalism.
 
Ruth Huxley concludes that “no one clear distribution solution” was identified because “such a thing probably does not exist”. However, a number of “realistic next steps” to begin to address the problems are suggested.
 
This is a high quality, insightful report which can be downloaded from the Cornwall Agri-food Council website: http://www.cornwallac.org/ . You will need to register and become a member to access the report.