Britons were today warned that a ‘nightmare’ is looming as the growing list of items set to be in short-supply come December 25 stretched to include pigs in blankets, hams and party foods.
A shortage of butchers means that farmers believe have to ‘throw pigs in a skip’ because they can’t be slaughtered and carved — with 150,000 animals under threat of being culled in the next ten days, according to the National Farmers’ Union.
The meat crisis is compounding woes caused by a lack of HGV drivers and fuel as well as labour shortages that will lead to a ‘distinct lack of choice’ this year with many essential gifts and foods scarce or missing completely.
Retail analyst Clive Black of Shore Capital said: ‘A lot of people eating on Christmas Day will be asking: ‘What the hell is this?’.’
Shoppers were told this week that a raft of items from turkey to beer as well as fizzy drinks and electronic goods are under threat this Christmas amid the supply chain crisis.British families may also struggle to find toys and sofas or detik get them delivered in time.
Ministers have already they cannot guarantee that there won’t be shortages this Christmas with serious problems emerging in the meat sector.
The cabinet is now said to be considering easing visa restrictions for up to 1,000 foreign butchers to avert the crisis — but The Times claims that Priti Patel is against it and concerned they are being pushed by British industry to move back towards pre-Brexit freedom of movement
But the British Meat Processors Association says that the 1,000 EU butchers is still 14,000 short of the 15,000 the country needs.This means that businesses are focussing on keeping supermarkets stocked with simple cuts of meat such as bacon, steaks and chops, meaning Christmas favourites such as pigs in blankets and hams could be in short supply
A BMPA spokesperson said: ‘We really should have been producing Christmas food from about June or July onwards this year and so far we haven’t, so there’ll be shortages of party foods and things like pigs in blankets.Anything that is labour-intensive work could see shortages.’
Britons were today warned that a ‘nightmare’ Christmas is looming as the growing list of items set to be in short-supply come December 25 stretched to include pigs in blankets, hams and party foods.Turkeys, drinks, toys and furniture will also be hard to get
Retail experts are warning of a grim Christmas.
<div class="art-ins mol-factbox news halfRHS" data-version="2" id="mol-6e31abf0-21e1-11ec-91aa-61198103d9fa" website pigs in blankets could be off the Christmas menu too!