A no-deal Brexit scenario could shake the British poultry industry
UK poultry businesses fear that they would lose essential workforce if the no-deal Brexit scenario goes through. “The British poultry meat sector is incredibly dependent on non-UK labour. Nearly 60% of our workforce are EU nationals. Access to skilled workers is imperative for our sector to carry on feeding the nation with safe, wholesome and affordable food," said British Poultry Council Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths.
The BPC said in a statement that losing skilled workers would have an effect on the cost of production which will affect the price of food. "The latest economic modelling predicts prices rising by around 25% in the event of a no-deal,” added Mr Griffith.
The BPC is calling on the Government to recognise food as a special case that is treated as a national security issue. The British poultry industry has grown beyond the labour availability in the areas it operates – which is why nearly 60% of our workforce are EU nationals. The sector sustains a total of 87,000 jobs up and down the country – of which 37,300 are employed directly in the poultry meat sector.
BPC says that while the sector has been investing heavily on attracting UK labour, nurturing talent and training our workforce – "it would take the industry several years to rebalance towards UK labour if indeed that were possible."
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