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Despite a forecast growth slowdown in 2019 the economy should still experience positive momentum, with low unemployment and manageable inflation.

Some larger players continue to push the supply chain on price and longer payment terms, adding cash flow challenges to mainly smaller food businesses.

Many food producers and processors struggle to pass on higher input prices, which is hampered by the high concentration and market power of retailers.

As the UK is a major Danish export market, a hard Brexit could trigger a significant decrease in Danish export of food and agricultural products.

Despite efforts of food exporters to diversify shipments away from Britain, a hard Brexit remains a major challenge, also for shipments to mainland Europe.

Growth is set to continue, but the strong export orientation makes many food businesses susceptible to trade disputes and price/currency fluctuations.

Many meat processors and producers suffer from higher procurement prices, while their ability to pass on those increases to retailers is limited.

Even the biggest food retailers are small compared to other major international players, and e-commerce is increasingly challenging traditional businesses.

The new Mexican government could launch policies in order to increase domestic production and put emphasis on domestic agricultural support programmes.

Higher input costs have increased the pressure on margins in recent years, with a recent draught in Australia having and additional negative impact.

The number of protracted payments in the sector is rather high as larger businesses use their leverage against suppliers by demanding long payment terms.

The UK leaving the EU without a deal would be a major disruption, causing business insolvencies to be higher in the UK and EU27.

The USMCA has finally been signed on November 30, easing short-term uncertainty surrounding North American trade.

The main potential downside risk for the industry is a deterioration in orders from main buyer industries, especially from the automotive sector.

Both payment delays and insolvencies could increase in 2019, especially if price and margin pressures rise and activity in the construction sector slows.

Competitiveness of the steel and metals industry remains negatively impacted by power costs, which are about 30%-50% higher than in France or Germany.

Despite ongoing price pressure the general outlook for the Dutch steel/metals sector is positive, and the impact of the US import tariffs is very limited.

Payment delays or rescheduling schemes are currently on an upward trend, as producers are facing cash pressure due to heavier working capital requirements.

Higher margin pressure as demand from the automotive sector is expected to decrease in the coming months, while demand from construction remains sluggish.

The number and amount of protracted payments and insolvencies remains high, and many private-owned steel and metals producers face serious troubles.