“Biggest crisis in decades”: Brexit endangers British Christmas roast

“Biggest Crisis in Decades”
Brexit puts British Christmas roast at risk

The British love their turkey for Christmas, but many families may be missing the main ingredient for their festive meal this year. After Brexit, the EU seasonal workers, which are so important for the economy, hardly come to the island. Other Christmas products could also become scarce and expensive.

Farmer Patrick Deeley stands in a dark wooden barn surrounded by 600 hungry white turkeys. The owner of the Flower Farm near Godstone in Surrey in the south of England has always been able to rely on a dozen seasonal workers for the Christmas business; he has been recruiting them from Europe for 15 years. Not a single one comes this year. That should be reflected in Christmas. “I’m not sure I can find enough staff to work before Christmas,” says Deeley.

He needs help with preparing, packing and delivering the slaughtered birds and is now expecting a lot of stress at the end of the year. He blames Brexit for this. “As far as I can see, Brexit is a big contributing factor,” says Deeley in the middle of his 61-acre family-run farm. “It has created a massive labor shortage.”

Not only Deeley is alone this year. The UK’s exit from the EU ended the free movement of workers, and stricter immigration rules are making the problem more difficult. Poultry farmers across the country are soliciting labor and seasonal workers from mainland Europe more eagerly than ever – with moderate success. In addition: “It’s not the most beautiful job in the world,” says Mark Gorton, who breeds turkeys in Norfolk, Eastern England. That is hard work, “seven days a week”. Gorton was able to employ up to 400 seasonal workers in December in previous years, this year: no one in sight. “We are six weeks from the start of the Christmas season,” he complains. “And right now we don’t have any people.”

The fight for the last turkey begins as early as October

As a result, many farmers are reducing production, while the supermarkets – battered by delivery problems caused by a lack of truck drivers – are simultaneously throttling orders. Consumers then argue about the few turkeys at the festival – prices are likely to rise significantly as a result. Many families are starting to place their orders on the farms now. Some of the 40 farms organized in the Traditional Farm-fresh Turkey Association are already reporting five times more direct orders compared to the previous year.

The poultry sector has been hard hit, but it is by no means the only one: In Great Britain, sellers of fir trees warn of high prices due to increased import and transport costs, and toys could become more expensive for the same reasons. And once they have arrived at the ports, there are no truck drivers and warehouse staff to distribute the goods.

Pig farmers in the country cannot find enough butchers and butchers. This not entirely pleasant job was also often done by foreign specialists in the past. The National Pig Breeders Association speaks of the “greatest crisis in decades” and reports of farmers who slaughter their animals without even adding them to the food chain because the costs are too high. Another popular Christmas dish is in danger: sausages in a dressing gown.

Johnson government blames corona

The British government knows the problem, even if it blames the corona crisis rather than Brexit. Many foreign workers returned to their home countries during the crisis and have not yet come back. London approved 5,500 seasonal workers visas by the end of the year.

But turkey breeder Deeley doesn’t believe it will work – he observes that foreign workers in the UK are now feeling uncomfortable. “Would I leave my house, my country, my work, my safety to help a country that doesn’t want me?” It’s a rhetorical question. Deeley prefers to prepare for tough weeks around the Christmas business. He has to convince the people who work for him to work up to 19 hours a day – “instead of the previous 16”.

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