The British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) has unveiled its Meat Industry Manifesto in response to a long-term trend of falling livestock numbers and a drop in abattoir numbers.
BMPA highlighted that the British abattoir industry was “under threat” from falling farm production, “increasingly onerous” trade barriers and a “systemic labour shortage”.
“This should worry UK consumers and Government alike because, once we go beyond a tipping point where we don’t have a viable abattoir industry it will lead to a sharper decline in domestic farming, a heavier reliance on imported meat and the loss of a key pillar of UK food security,” said BMPA.
It said that growth was in decline: “This might be a contentious statement, 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.”
The Association stated that British livestock farmers would not be able to survive without abattoirs, and commented that if the current trend continues, Britain would be in danger of throwing away one of the “key strategically important parts of UK infrastructure” while “seriously jeopardising the country’s food security”. It also predicted that this would expose the UK to “risks beyond our control like wars, climate change-driven shortages and export bans where supplies are suddenly cut-off”.
BMPA said its Meat Industry Manifesto would “seek to describe what a smoothly functioning, resilient meat supply chain should look like”, while highlighting the impact of Government policy on different areas from trade to workforce to regulation.
Key asks from BMPA
The manifesto detailed a number of changes BMPA would like to see, including:
- Prioritisation of sustainable and productive food production, while tailoring support for farmers
- Support for businesses up and down the food supply chain to improve efficiency and productivity while meeting environmental challenges
- Greater flexibility in how Apprenticeship Levy funds are allocated
- Adding butchers to the new Immigration Salary List
- Alignment with EU sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) regulations
- Collaboration with industry during trade negotiations
- The sustainability credentials of British meat to be reflected in eco-labelling
- Implementation of a veterinary agreement with the EU
Nick Allen, CEO of the BMPA, commented: “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.”
