According to the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA), the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union (EU) in 2020 increased the chronic shortage of that skilled workforce.

We estimate that we have a deficit of 10,000 butchers, but that figure substantially increased with the return home of many European workers in January, the BMPA press team told Prensa Latina.

The source added that after the Brexit and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the problem worsened, and now the industries are competing with each other to attract workers with high-wage offers that other sectors cannot cover.

The anticipated crisis for the meat sector follows the one the oil companies already suffered due to a shortage of tanker truck drivers in charge of supplying gas stations.

Although the Government has mobilized its fleet of reserve tankers and Army drivers, the lines of cars at gas stations due to the high demand and consumers’ fear that gasoline or diesel might run out could last at least for another week, Police Minister Kit Malthouse said on Friday.

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