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A group of European industry associations are calling for measures to avoid a “food inflation crisis” stemming from the stalemate in the Middle East. 

Despite US attempts to open the Strait of Hormuz, the key shipping channel remains blocked to traffic, causing volatility in world prices of oil, a major input for agri-food. 

Fertiliser and freight costs have shot up, along with packaging and materials prices, and, according to the associations, “severe impacts are already strongly visible in the form of higher and more volatile input costs”. 

“This is particularly evident for fertilisers, energy, packaging materials, logistics and freight, as well as various agricultural raw materials,” the five-strong group, including FoodDrinkEurope and Copa-Cogeca, said in a statement. 

“There is a clear need for an urgent, strong and coordinated European response that aims to safeguard food production, ensures food and energy security and prevents a food inflation crisis. Exceptional situations call for exceptional measures through concrete immediate action.”

New Zealand and India have signed a free-trade agreement that will reduce or eliminate border tariffs on Kiwi products including honey and wine. 

The New Zealand government said the country’s exports of goods and services to India amounted to NZ$2.03bn (US$1.2bn) in 2025. 

India said New Zealand was its second-largest trading partner in Oceania last year with two-way trade valued at US$1.3bn. 

For New Zealand, tariffs on more than half of its exports will be eliminated as soon as the agreement comes into force and 80% will become tariff-free once the deal is fully “phased” in. The New Zealand trade department said average tariffs on shipments to India will “drop sharply” to 3%. 

Indian companies will be able to import ingredients duty free for use in the production of exports. 

New Zealand estimates it will save NZ$43m from tariffs straight away and that will likely rise to NZ$62m based on current trading levels.

The Italian competition watchdog has fined snack makers Amica Chips, Pata and Preziosi Food for “coordinating” strategies through a cartel. 

Announcing the decision, Autorita Garante della Concorrenza e del Mercato (AGCM) said the companies participated in a “single, complex and continuous” market-sharing agreement. 

The regulator fined the companies a combined €23.3m ($27.2m), saying the firms coordinated their respective commercial strategies in a move that violated EU competition rules. 

The action occurred within the market for savoury snacks made for “large-scale” retailers and sold under private label. None of the three snacks makers had responded to Just Food’s request for comment at the time of writing. 

Amica Chips and Pata received reduced fines after providing evidence that was “significant” in establishing the infringement, the watchdog said in a statement. The investigation into Amica Chips and Pata was triggered in 2024 by a whistleblower report, which led to raids on the companies’ premises.

Nestlé has started to roll out job cuts in Europe as part of the 16,000-cull announced by CEO Philipp Navratil in October.

The Switzerland-headquartered group, the world’s largest food and drinks maker, confirmed the planned job cuts in the UK and France with Just Food but has not yet clarified the numbers put forward by various media reports in Germany, Spain and Italy. 

Taken together, the total impact is more than 1,400 so far across the five countries. 

Navratil revealed in October he planned to slash Nestlé’s workforce after only taking the top job a month earlier. A veteran at the KitKat and Nescafé brand owner, he replaced another long-time Nestlé stalwart Laurent Freixe, who left the business after breaching code-of-conduct rules. 

The job losses would be implemented over the next two years, including 12,000 white-collar workers across the group, and 4,000 in manufacturing,” Navratil said at the time as part of a plan to increase annual savings to SFr1bn ($1.2bn) by the end of 2027.

Nomad Foods plans to close its Rorschach manufacturing plant in Switzerland by the end of the year as part of the European frozen-food group’s savings plan. 

In a statement, the UK-headquartered owner of the Birds Eye, Iglo and Findus brands said the proposed move is aligned with its “long-term productivity programme” unveiled last year. The closure would affect 45 full-time employees, with consultations with staff running until 8 May. 

As outlined in September, Nomad Foods is targeting €200m ($233.1m) in operational savings over its 2026 to 2028 financial years, with efficiencies expected across procurement, logistics and overheads. At the time, the company said the savings would be “broad-based”, although the biggest contribution is set to come from a procurement transformation programme. 

It is also looking to improve utilisation across its manufacturing network, reduce logistics costs and unlock overhead efficiencies. Nomad Foods believes the savings will allow the business to make “targeted reinvestments” and “mitigate” pressure from inflation.