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The National Pig Association has warned that around 120,000 pigs are backed up on farms due to a shortage of slaughterhouse workers, and the British Poultry Council said it expects to cut Christmas turkey production by 20 percent. On Monday, protesters gathered outside the Conservative Party conference in Manchester with banners that read “All we want for Christmas is our pigs in blankets” and “#saveourbacon”.
Consumers are already expecting scarcity. A farmer in Leeds said last month customers ordered all 3,500 turkeys he had raised for Christmas – a first.
The absence of truck drivers has also caused occasional shortages of staple foods such as eggs, milk and baked goods. One in six people in the UK said they were unable to buy some basic foodstuffs in recent weeks because they were not available. According to a report by the Office of National StatisticsA survey was conducted with approximately 3,500 households.
Some consumers we interviewed recently said that they did not have any trouble finding what they were looking for in the markets. But Meriem Mahdhi, 22, who moved from Italy to Colchester in southeast England last month to attend university, said she was struggling to find essentials at her local grocer Tesco, the UK’s largest supermarket chain.
“All the dry foods like pasta, canned fruit, every day, they are all gone,” he said. Tesco did not respond to a request for comment.
Looking for a quick solution, 200 military personnel arrived at the refineries on Monday to help deliver fuel to gas stations. About half of these used civilian vehicles, while the others provided logistical support. “We put in an extra driver as an extra precaution,” Sunak said.
Over the weekend, the government said It had extended thousands of temporary visas for foreign workers to work in the UK until the first few months of next year.. But economists said temporary visas won’t be enough to make a big difference, as there is shortage of every link in the supply chain.
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