Meat producer shares food industry concerns with MP

Vion is an international producer of meat, meat products and plant-based alternatives with production locations in the Netherlands and Germany. It has sales support offices and representatives worldwide, with its UK base at the Eurolink Business Park in Sittingbourne.

Its country manager for UK and Ireland, Nick Behari, met with Kevin McKenna MP and with Rod Addy, the director general of the PTF at Westminster.

Nick Behari from the Vion Food Group commented: “We have a responsibility to keep healthy food affordable and cut our unnecessary costs. This meeting was a good way to share our thoughts and to make sure this is not overlooked by policy makers.”

Rod Addy, PTF director general, highlighted that the Federation’s members accounted for 20% of UK household expenditure on food and supported around 130,000 jobs across the UK.

Addy stated: “We were pleased to meet with Kevin and hear of his support for local business and local employees in what is one the UK’s most fundamental sectors.

“We were keen to stress that businesses such as Nick’s have seen costs for energy, wages, National Insurance and packaging disposal soar in the past two to three years. They have also been contending with more expensive bills for importing.

“Even strong businesses are feeling the pinch and are struggling to avoid passing those costs on in the form of higher food prices in shops and restaurants. The food industry as a whole has been hit hard because it operates on relatively low margins.”

Addy concluded: “Kevin has key roles on both Health and Sustainable Resources cross party parliamentary groups and with his background of working in health we wanted to make sure the views and concerns of our members were raised directly with him.

The meeting also covered the importance of safeguarding food resilience and food security and the essential role importers play in that process.