STRATEGY ▶▶▶
workers at the plant walked off the job to protest outside about a perceived lack of sanitary working conditions and other related concerns. A workforce representative said she and her co-workers would like the building disinfected and everyone exposed to the infected person sent home. More or less the same happened at a poultry processing facility of Moy Park in Europe. Workers at one of Moy Park’s poultry processing factories in Northern Ireland staged a walkout on Wednesday 25 March over coronavirus fears. The staff were concerned about the working arrangements inside the fac- tory and the lack of measures to combat the spread of the coronavirus. Both companies said they had enacted strict protocols following guidance from their national centres for disease control.
Focus on continuity Even with measures to control the virus within a company, ensuring the continuity of production is fraught with diffi- culties. With governments restricting travel and border cross- ings, it was by no means easy to arrange work permits for foreign workers. Tens of thousands of temporary foreign workers are brought into the United States and Canada every year to work in both countries’ meat processing plants and on farms. Due to COVID-19 there are serious concerns that the same number of workers will not be allowed to en- ter this year, putting food production, business survival and food security at risk. On Tuesday 24 March the US State De- partment announced it would suspend the processing of temporary work visas in Mexico because of COVID-19. Hower
No flights, no breeding stock
The sharp reduction in global air transport caused by the coronavirus pandemic could leave some companies without breeding stock and hatching eggs, the International Poultry Council warned at the beginning of April. In the long-run the supply disruptions could jeopardise food security globally, says the poultry processors’ organisation. The first to be affected by the lack of air freight will be the exporting countries. Hatching egg and day-old chick exporters in the Netherlands started euthanising chicks and destroying eggs in March as destinations became out of reach. Some birds could be relocated within Europe but transport to one of its main export markets – Africa – stopped altogether. Spokesperson Anton Butijn fears for the future of the African producers. “They rely heavily on imports of day-old chicks which are crucial for
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their food supply,” he says. “Every month we supply 1.7 million day-old layer chicks to Ghana, Congo, Nigeria and Ivory Coast. The egg production of those birds will now never come to market and on top of that we will be forced to destroy parent stock as well.” But the African countries are not the only ones dependent on imports. China and especially poultry-production powerhouse Russia, rely heavily on foreign supplies. “The self-sufficien- cy rate for hatching eggs for day-old chicks is currently at about 90% in Russia,” Albert Davleyev, president of the Russian consulting agency Agrifood Strategy told local news out- let Interfax. “On the other hand, the hatching eggs of the parent stock for both layers and broilers is completely dependent on imports,” he added. “In the turkey industry almost 97% of eggs, 100% of chicks and 100% of parent
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 4, 2020
that suspension was lifted by Friday 27 March. This was at least partly as a result of a letter sent to the State Depart- ment, the Department of Labor and the Department of Homeland Security by elected officials from North Carolina and signed by over 100 members of Congress. It called for visa processing in Mexico to be resumed because its suspen- sion was endangering the nation’s food supply chains. Employment and Social Development is the ministry respon- sible for Canada’s Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and handles all foreign worker permits. Jean-Michel Laurin, president and CEO of the Canadian Poultry & Egg Processors Council, commented on the Canadian situation. He notes that members employ temporary workers from many countries, such as Jamaica, Mexico and Guatemala, in- cluding several in Eastern Europe. To try to ensure that there are adequate numbers of temporary workers this year in the face of COVID-19, Laurin reports that discussions were held with the Canadian Federation of Agriculture, the Quebec farmer’s union and Agriculture & Agri-food Canada (AAFC). AAFC put forward strict protocols which it expects all farm- ing and food processing employers to adhere to with regard to the use of foreign workers. These conditions will likely in- clude medical screening before and after the flight to Cana- da, private transport to accommodation and a 14-day quar- antine period. Laurin says there may also be the opportunity for foreign workers now in Canada to extend their stay, if they are willing and able to do so. The poultry industry relies heavily on the availability of foreign workers to put food on the table, in Canada and in the rest of the world.
Disrupted air transport has had a major impact on the distribution of breeding stock as well.
flock in Russia are currently imported from Europe and Canada.” Davleyev further warned that a prolonged supply disruption could significantly reduce the ability of the Russian poultry industry to ensure an adquate supply of poultrymeat and eggs for Russian consumers.
PHOTO: MARK PASVEER
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