sure whether there will be turkey on British tables this Christmas. “The problem is that we do not know if we will have the workforce this year. Historically, and in the absence of UK labour (regardless of level of pay), producers have brought in EU labour to slaughter, dress, pack and dispatch our Christmas centrepiece. Under post-Brexit immigration policy bringing in new non-UK labour is considerably more difficult and costly, and pretty much impossible for a job ex- pected to last only up to 12 weeks. It would be irresponsible to grow more birds than can be slaughtered and processed, which is incredibly frustrating when the demand is there for quality British products. If we cannot meet demand then it is likely that – in a bitter twist – we will see turkeys from EU countries on our shelves this Christmas,” chief-executive Richard Griffiths says. “Numerous sectors and businesses have made it crystal clear that they are facing the same la- bour crisis as us – the ongoing loss of non-UK workers and the inability to replace them, whether with UK or non-UK la- bour. Poultry is half the meat we eat in this country and de- mand for our quality British produce has rarely been higher. Yet the birds we are growing are 5% to 10% down since Easter simply because we do not have the people to process them. Brexit put a fire in the belly of its believers, but the rest of us need food.”
Rising costs Back to 2 Sisters Food Group where Ranjit Singh Boparan also points to the continuous rise of input costs for food produc- ers. “The food sector has suffered major hits with ingredient inflation. Feed inflation is at an eight-year high. Wheat, soya and other components have risen by more than 50%; pack- aging is up by 20% and energy costs are up 30%. Some food sector items, such as stainless steel equipment, have doubled in price. 2 Sisters has also seen unprecedented wage inflation across its supply chain in skilled roles; ranging from hatcher- ies, to farms, logistics and delivery – wage inflation is now way in excess of annual increases.” He concludes: “These are unique, era-defining challenges which we started to tackle head on last year. But they’ve all come to a head in the last few weeks. Clearly, these have brought continued and intensive pressure on our business, just as they have elsewhere. This cannot be sustained in- definitely. The critical labour issue alone means that we are walking a tightrope every week at the moment. We’re just about coping but if no support is forthcoming – and urgently – from our government, I can see that shelves will be empty, food waste will rocket simply because it cannot be processed or delivered, and the shortages we saw last year will be peanuts in comparison to what could come.”
▶ POULTRY WORLD | No. 8, 2021
2 Sisters Food Group Group chief executive and owner, Ranjit Singh Boparan, warns of a serious food crisis in the UK.
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