Why now is the time to stand up for British farming
The appetite among residents of the UK is for homegrown, higher welfare, British produce
The farming sector has been challenged. Huge surges in demand at the peak of the pandemic for products such as minced beef (to account for the rise in batch cooking) have been matched by extremely low demand for more premium cuts usually reserved by restaurants, impacting the value farmers received for their livestock.
While supermarkets have to some extent benefited from remaining open throughout the crisis, the high level of activity food retailers experienced at the beginning created considerable pressures, particularly for the brave frontline staff working on our shop floors. The way people shopped during the peak of the pandemic also created significant supply and demand challenges something shoppers will have noticed when seeing gaps on the shelves.
Given these are typically among the most perishable forms of fruit & veg, CGMA expects products such as gem and iceberg lettuce, baby spinach, citrus fruits, raspberries and broccoli to be the first types of fresh produce to run into short supply should the border crisis continue.
Some of these products were shown to be particularly vulnerable to supply chain disruption in January 2017 when bad weather in Spain led to shortages of salad products.
But it’s not just European-grown produce that faces complications making it to the UK.
“A large amount of fresh produce is transited to Europe to get to the UK, for example from Morocco,” says Fresh Produce Consortium CEO Nigel Jenney.
By Kevin White2020-12-18T12:42:00+00:00
Processors have struggled to make up the backlog after a series of Covid cases in factories delayed production
A spate of recent Covid cases at pig processing plants, coupled with related export delays and a surge in demand ahead of Christmas, has led to a weekly backlog of at least 40,000 pigs on farms across the UK, The Grocer has learned.
Such a backlog of unprocessed pigs meant the sector was on a “knife edge”, suggested one industry source, with any further delays in slaughtering having the potential to impact on pig farm animal welfare.
Greencore reports coronavirus cases at Nottinghamshire site Convenience food manufacturer Greencore has confirmed an outbreak of COVID-19 at its North Nottinghamshire site.
A number of employees at the producer’s Manton Wood factory have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and are now self-isolating.
That follows a reported outbreak of COVID-19 at Greencore’s Northampton manufacturing site in August, after 292 people tested positive for the virus through National Health Service and private testing programmes.
A spokesman for the business said: “
Our thoughts are with all those affected, who are currently recovering at home, and we will continue to monitor their welfare as the situation develops.”