ONE of Abergavenny’s biggest employers says Brexit and Covid are causing a worker crisis that is hitting supermarket shelves.

Avara Foods at the Hardwick Roundabout normally employs 350 at its turkey processing plant, but is struggling to fill vacancies left by EU workers returning home.

The likes of Nandos and Kentucky Fried Chicken and several supermarkets have reported serious supply problems, and Avara is now calling for the seasonal workers scheme to be extended to help with the Christmas rush.

Andrew Brodie, Avara people and communications director, told www.foodmanufacture.co.uk this week the food industry was facing “the worst skills crisis in our lifetime” with the likes of butchers in short supply.

He said: “This is not a temporary labour issue, this is a structural change in the UK labour market that will take years to play out.

“This is the worst skills crisis in our lifetime and is resulting in shortages across the food sector, as being reported on a daily basis in the national media.”

Around half a million of the UK’s current 993,000 vacancies are in the food and drinks sector, according to a report by Grant Thornton.

Mr Brodie also told Food Manufacture that while the labour shortage had “been exacerbated by furlough and Covid, it is due to an exodus of EU citizens back to their home country that, due to immigration issues now in place, cannot be replaced by immigration.”

He called for “temporary relaxation of rules around immigration and key food roles promoted to the skills shortage occupation list”, and cited processing, butchery, transport and logistics as key areas.

EU workers previously comprised around half of Avara’s workforce.

Avara’s Jim Roberts also told a local radio station that in the past “the UK labour simply wasn’t there, so we would supplement it with non-UK workers that were either already in the country or travelling from overseas”, but now it was much harder to fill the places left by departing EU workers, with only 20 applications per month when there were previously 80.

“It looks to us like it’s primarily Brexit-related although probably not in isolation - Covid undoubtedly has played a part, but it’s certainly not Covid on its own,” he told BBC Wales.

“We track who is absent because of Covid on a daily basis and the numbers are very, very low.

“It looks much more like it’s a reduced labour pool and that’s primarily caused by non-UK workers returning back home.”

Avara Foods, which supplies major retailers and restaurants nationwide, wants the seasonal workers scheme to be extended to help with the Christmas rush, and Mr Roberts said they needed staff for “a number of skilled roles, particularly butchery”.

“The shortage occupation list doesn’t currently include skilled roles that are necessary in food production, so butchers and HGV drivers could easily join an archaeologist, web designers and nurses [who are] on that list,” he added.

The UK Government’s Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said in a statement: “In 2021 and beyond, food and farming businesses will continue to be able to rely on EU nationals living in the UK with settled or pre-settled status.

“We are working with other departments to encourage and support the sector to attract UK domestic workers though offering training, careers options, wage increases and to invest in increased automation technology.”

Food Manufacture is holding a free webinar, sponsored by Aptean on Thursday, September 9, from 3pm to 4pm to tackle the topic.

You can sign up now to hear key experts, including Mr Brodie and read the full article at www.foodmanufacture.co.uk