Additional butchers visas confirmed by government to assist pigmeat sector
The UK government has announced a package of measures to support the pig industry, including private storage aid and new temporary butchers’ visas.
The government said that the new measures “come in recognition of the unique temporary circumstances farmers are facing, brought about by the global economy responding to the impacts of the pandemic and the global pressures facing supply chains worldwide.”
Until 31st December, up to 800 pork butchers will be eligible to apply for visas from the existing allocation in the Seasonal Workers Pilot Scheme, allowing them to travel and work in the UK for a period of 6 months. The government said that this temporary adjustment is in addition to foreign butchers already being eligible since December 2020 to apply to come to the UK through the Skilled Worker Route as part of the point-based immigration system.
As part of the announcement, the government said that the measures were “only temporary”, and that it expects the pork sector to encourage better training offers, career options and wage increases to ensure that the industry draws on the large domestic labour pool in the UK, as well as investing in technology across the industry.
Other proposals included within the package of measures are:
- Working with industry to introduce processing of animals on Saturdays and longer working days where possible
- Funding a private storage aid scheme in England which will enable meat processors to store slaughtered pigs for three to six months so that they can be preserved safely and processed at a later date
- Working with AHDB to support the establishments that have been delisted by China and to identify other export markets for pork
- Supporting processors and the consumption of a variety of cuts of domestically produced pork by engaging with retailers and food service sectors.
In support of pig producers in England and Scotland, the two meat levy bodies have also announced a pork levy holiday – suspending payments of the levy pig farmers and producers are required to pay for November 2021. According to the government, the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) and Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) took the decision in response to the continued build-up of pigs on farm, falling prices and high production costs.
“We are so relieved”
National Pig Association (NPA) chief executive Zoe Davies said: “We are so very relieved that the government has finally released some measures aimed at reducing the significant pig backlog on farms.
“We are working with the processors to understand the impact of these new measures and to determine exactly what will happen now, and how quickly, so that we can give pig farmers some hope and stem the flow of healthy pigs currently having to be culled on farms.”
The Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, George Eustice, said: “A unique range of pressures on the pig sector over recent months such as the impacts of the pandemic and its effect on export markets have led to the temporary package of measures we are announcing today. This is the result of closely working with industry to understand how we can support them through this challenging time.”
“A move in the right direction”
Tony Goodger, a spokesperson for the Association of Independent Meat Processors (AIMS), said: “The announcement of a package of measures to support the pig industry is welcome news for some. We now need to see them address the wider issue of a lack of butchers across the industry, be it for lamb and beef abattoirs and cutting plants or for wholesalers and catering butchers.
“The pig worker scheme that has been announced is for six months and we would like to now see the government also extend the Poultry Worker Scheme for a similar length of time.
“The announcement also included the government’s expectation that the pork sector ‘encourage better training offers’. We would now like to see the government immediately add Level 3 Butchery to the Lifetime Skills Guarantee as a means of helping the whole of the meat and poultry sector with the cost of training.”
He added: “This is a move in the right direction, and we will now press ministers to take further steps to help the whole of the industry.”
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