Govt urged to tackle dire labor shortages

MPs say action is needed to help food industry process the nation's produce

The government must quickly address chronic labor shortages in the United Kingdom's food and farming sector that were mainly caused by Brexit and the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a parliamentary select committee report.

Politicians on the cross-party Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee said the situation needs urgent attention in order to avoid more food price rises.

The committee's report said the sector, which is worth 100 billion pounds ($131 billion), "faces permanent shrinkage if a failure to address its acute labor shortages leads to wage rises, price increases, reduced competitiveness and, ultimately, food production being exported abroad and increased imports".

The food and farm sector, along with the British economy in general, has been struggling to cope with surging energy prices, and pressure on producers increased when fertilizer prices shot up as a consequence of the crisis in Ukraine.

The fruit and vegetable picking and meat-processing sectors have been hit hardest by the labor shortage. The report said that almost a quarter of Britain's daffodil crop was left unpicked this year, and that fruit suppliers have been forced to leave produce to rot. It noted that a lack of skilled butchers and abattoir workers meant some 35,000 pigs have been culled.

The report said that as of August last year, the food and farm sector had "potentially in excess of 500,000 job vacancies".

It said visa issues and pandemic restrictions had caused many farm workers and truck drivers to return to their homes overseas. It called on the government to review its skilled worker visa program, which it said acts as a barrier to applications due to the English language requirements and costs involved, and to expand the seasonal worker visa program.

The Office for National Statistics noted that 58 percent of food and beverage businesses have reported passing on price rises to customers in March, noted The Daily Mail.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today program, member of Parliament Neil Parish, the committee's chair, said the government "must change its attitude to the food and farming sector-trusting them and acting promptly when they raise concerns".

He added: "I am hopeful that the Home Office is listening but they must listen and do something about it rather than just leave it and it'll sort itself out, because it won't."

Authors of the committee's report said labor shortages were impacting on "food security, animal welfare and the mental health of those working in the sector (but) the government has not demonstrated a strong understanding of these issues, and even on occasion sought to pass the blame on to the sector on the basis of incorrect information about its own immigration system".

A statement from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: "We fully acknowledge that the food and farming industry is facing labor challenges and we continue to work with the sector to mitigate them."