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Earlier this month, the UFU had warned that retailers could face more limited supplies of pork and ham this Christmas due to the processing problems.

Deputy president WIlliam Irvine had warned that it may be necessary to cull healthy pigs if it proves impossible to get more throughput through processing factories, raising the danger that speciality product lines in stores could be more limited this Christmas.

Labour shortages

Following the latest visa news, Mr Irvine said: “After a long period of intense lobbying by the UFU, we are glad that finally, some positive progression has been made on the issue of labour shortages. 

“Processors across Northern Ireland have been seriously understaffed for quite some time now and this has been putting pressure on our farmers to house extra livestock as well as impacting their cashflow – especially when you take into account ongoing high feed prices.

However, while the movement on temporary visas is an encouraging start to help fill the vacancies in the processing plants and hopefully, help them to get back to the level of processing that is required, we fear it’s not going to fix the problem entirely, but it may be a start.”

Falls short

Mr Irvine warned that the number of temporary visas granted falls short of what is needed, but said the union appreciates the government making them available to workers outside the UK. 

“In the meantime, we will continue to engage at the highest level. Other food processing sectors must not be forgotten about as labour affects across the board,” he said.

“We will ensure that work continues to overcome this labour shortage completely and drive the industry away from a looming crisis.”

Earlier this month he warned that the labour shortage could hit consumer choice.

“They’re streamlining product in every way they can and delivering the most handy and speedy cuts, so consumer choice is going to be limited,” he said.

“Demand from GB is strong, so in the run-up to Christmas there will be a reduced number of lines.

“If you want a nice ham for Christmas I would buy it soon and have it in the freezer, rather than leaving it until Christmas Eve.”

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The Ulster Farmers’ Union (UFU) has met with Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to discuss the ongoing pressure on Northern Ireland’s pig sector. This is due to the reduced ability to slaughter at local plants caused by labour shortages.

UFU deputy president William Irvine said, “The UFU presidential team, committee reps and chief executive had a constructive meeting with the Agriculture Minister about the ongoing staff shortage that processing plants have been experiencing for a number of weeks now. The labour availability issue is severely impacting the agri-food industry and in particular, the pig sector. A back log of pigs is occurring on farms across NI because processors do not have the workforce required to maintain the essential level of slaughter.

“We also raised this labour availability issue last week at Back British Farming Day with the Home Secretary in Westminster and stressed how critical it is that businesses can access the workforce they require. At the present time our members are doing all they can to utilise sheds for cattle and sheep as processing factories try to work through the backlog, but winter is fast approaching, and these sheds will be needed for other livestock. If things are not resolved quickly, it will cause chaos for our farmers putting more pressure on an already pressurised situation.

“The demand for locally produced products such as pork and bacon remains strong, and despite talks about possible food shortages, the ironic thing is, there is plenty of livestock ready and waiting to be processed. However, if the immigration policy is not changed, this could well be the case for certain products.

“At Christmas there is usually a spike in the market but this year consumers could be facing empty shelves in pork isles whilst farmers struggle to manage the oversupply on their farms because of labour issues.”

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Michael Bell, Executive Director said the present difficulties should act as a ‘wake up call’ for Ministers, and called on the Executive to address the issue urgently.

“Across the UK, the food and drink sector is experiencing serious difficulty in accessing labour, with Brexit and Covid-19 creating a perfect storm across the supply chain leaving many farmers, food processors and supermarkets struggling to meet demand,” Michael said.

“Figures released this week by Grant Thornton on behalf of the industry reveal that UK food and drink companies have an average vacancy rate of 13%. To put that figure into perspective, that means there are potentially more than 500,000 vacancies in the industry across the United Kingdom.

“The problem is particularly acute in Northern Ireland, where some firms are operating at between 75-90% of normal staffing levels. Additionally, a shortage of HGV drivers is causing serious issues across the food supply chain, from the farm to supermarket shelves.

“Food and drink is one of Northern Ireland’s most important sectors. It is the largest manufacturing industry in Northern Ireland, supporting some 113,000 jobs. A strong food and drink industry will be key to driving Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit economic growth.

“These difficulties should act as a wake up call for government. The current situation is unsustainable, and if it deteriorates we are looking at higher food prices, choice for consumers significantly curtailed and ultimately Northern Ireland’s recovery from the pandemic stalled. We will continue to engage heavily with politicians locally and nationally to address this issue and deliver workable solutions.”

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