A crisis through which we came through well. Fine-mesh distribution, one of our core activities, experienced a major drop in the number of shipments during the first weeks of April, but fortunately this was short-lived and recovered fairly quickly. With even an increase in shipments of more than 20% within the Benelux. This increase occurred not only in the area of distribution, but also in our logistics department there was a significant increase in the volume of work. Not so surprising in itself, since the goods we stock are closely linked to the food industry, both dry food and temperature-controlled food. Products for which demand has risen sharply during this pandemic.
But there was not only the Corona that dominated the world news, the Brexit also had an impact on our organization. We stock and load a lot of containers for third parties destined for the UK. In recent weeks many companies, back mainly from the food industry, still tried to send a maximum of goods to the UK to get ahead of the extra paper mountain and costs. For us, 2020 was perhaps a very turbulent year, but one that we can certainly look back on with a relatively good feeling.
What 2021 will bring is, of course, another matter. A hard or soft Brexit will certainly have its impact on the food sector and exports to the UK. I also continue to believe that once the vaccination is behind us, the economy will rebound and consumer confidence will return rapidly. But the future will have to tell."
