UK chicken producers blame Brexit immigration rules for chicken shortage in country

Chicken producers in the UK have blamed the Brexit immigration laws for the ongoing chicken shortage in the country. The restrictions have cut short staff, which in turn resulted in cut down of supplies in restaurants like KFC and Nando's. The revised Brexit immigration laws favours highly educated workers from the European Union nations for visas to be allowed for job prospects in the UK.

KFC and Nando's complained of having to shut down outlets because the compressed menu suffered from meat scarcity. Meanwhile, Britain's largest chicken producer, Two Sisters Food Group has also spoken about the "chronic" insufficiency in staff to process meat in the production units. The workforce was already grappling with the Coronavirus pandemic when the Brexit plan plunged the food joints and chicken producers into "irrecoverable food shortages."

Food shortage leads to inflation in prices

The revised Brexit immigration plans have cut down the count of processing workers by 60% i.e. approximately 40,000 in number. From lorry drivers to line workers, the reliance on European workers has made the poultry industry particularly vulnerable.

Following the crisis, the British Poultry Council has raised repeated concerns with the government. In a letter to Home Secretary Priti Patel, the council has sought an alternative to the ongoing bottleneck. “We are facing a serious shortage of production operatives and processing staff that are classified as low-skilled workers in Home Office terms but play an incredibly important role in keeping food supply moving and feeding the nation,” the letter said.

The council mentioned the 10% cut down in production due to a shortage of workers. Furthermore, it also added the anticipated loss in Turkey rearing for the upcoming holiday season. Last but not the least, the council also pointed to the “a real risk of irrecoverable food shortages and food price inflation down the line”.

Major food producers are concerned about long term losses

Major food producers in the UK have raised eyebrows towards the long-lasting impact of the newly formulated Brexit immigration rules. Two Sisters and Tesco have spoken about the "critical issue" that seemed to have no alternative shortly. Additionally, another chicken supply chain Avara Foods has also remained curious about the current situation.

Meanwhile, following the acute chicken supply shortage, the South African fast-food joint was forced to shut down 45 outlets of its 450 restaurants in the UK. KFC too revised its menus to meet the demand-supply disruption. Several other food chains have complained of irregularities and spoken about formulating contingency plans to cope with shortages.

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