Government pushed for action to prevent the number of meat processors falling
There are calls for Government action to stop the decline in the British abattoir industry, which is under threat from falling farm production, increasingly onerous trade barriers and a systemic labour shortage.
According to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), abattoir numbers have declined from around 2,500 in the 1970s to just 203 today.
The BMPA said it should worry UK consumers and government alike because the industry is near a “tipping point where we don’t have a viable abattoir industry”, leading to a “sharper decline in domestic farming, a heavier reliance on imported meat and the loss of a key pillar of UK food security”.
The BMPA went further with what it conceded might be a “contentious statement”, when it added: “but the meat processing industry can survive without British livestock. If necessary, British meat processors could replace meat from UK reared animals with imported meat, and just focus on processing and packaging products for sale”.
But British livestock farmers can’t survive without abattoirs.
It is clear that if the trend continues, Britain is in danger of throwing away one of the key strategically important parts of UK infrastructure and seriously jeopardising the country’s food security. The UK will be exposed to risks beyond our control like wars, climate change-driven shortages and export bans where supplies are suddenly cut-off, the BMPA believes.
The association also brought up the spectre of the decimation of the UK dairy industry because both the meat and dairy industries rely on a properly functioning domestic abattoir industry. All dairy cows eventually pass through a UK abattoir at the end of their time in production.
The new Meat Industry Manifesto seeks to describe what a smoothly functioning, resilient meat supply chain should look like. It also highlights the impact of government policy on different areas from trade to workforce to regulation, and proposes answers to the issues raised.
Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association explains: “Since we left the EU the British meat industry has come under pressure from increased bureaucracy, tougher trade barriers and worker shortages. Government policy has played a dominant role and shaped the current trading environment. But many policy decisions have been made in a departmental vacuum, without a full understanding of the impacts and unintended consequences they will have on different parts of the food chain. Often, one problem is fixed, only to create another.
“We see the election of a new Labour government as an opportunity to re-set how government and industry work together to share on-the-ground intelligence that will help shape pragmatic, workable policies that strengthen Britain’s long-term food security. Our Meat Industry Manifesto sets out that ideal big picture and offers practical solutions to achieve it.”
