As the Government publishes some of the technical notices on a ‘No-deal’ Brexit, the British Poultry Council warns of the devastating impact of exiting the EU without a deal on British food production and supply.
Responding to the Government’s ‘No-deal’ Brexit contingency papers, British Poultry Council Chief Executive, Richard Griffiths, said:
“British poultry meat farmers and producers are committed to doing everything they can to deliver a sustainable, secure and trusted supply of food, produced to world-class standards. We need the Government to devise a food strategy that enables EU nationals to work in our sector as and when needed; and that recognises the importance of food and the challenges it faces in being an essential yet perishable product.
As the UK’s largest livestock sector, we are keen to work together with Government to help solve the conundrum of frictionless trade with Europe, be that on regulatory alignment, the use of technology to facilitate crossing of borders, or the future of where labour is going to come from.
Food is a special case, it should be treated as a national security issue, and be protected as such. Government must ensure that British food, and the quality it represents, stays affordable and available for all. If we cannot support our own production, then there will emerge a two-tier food system with the average citizen forced to rely on lower standard imports.
We are calling on the Government to develop a robust transition plan to ensure we have access to the workers we need and to avoid any disruption in the smooth movement of perishable products across the EU.”
