Nick Allen tells New Food Magazine meat industry's top concerns
Ahead of the election, Nick Allen, CEO of the British Meat Processors Association sat down with New Food Magazine's Josh Minchin and Grace Galler to discuss the key concerns our industry is facing and how we'd like to see politicians tackle them.
Part of the big picture is the declining number of livestock, even as the UK population continues to grow. This translates into a heavier reliance on imported meat to keep up with demand and a consequent weakening of Britain's food security. Nick expands on the causes of this including changes to farming subsidies that have removed the safety net for farmers and driven them to either quit or move away from food production.
He also reviews how Brexit has impacted the industry saying: "All our members have seen since Brexit is increased cost. And sooner or later that cost has to be picked up by someone. Either the farmer gets paid less ... or the consumer has to pay more, or it eats into margins." At the moment, processors are picking up much of the extra cost, paying historically high livestock prices but not being able to pass that cost on to the supermarkets. But that can't continue indefinitely.
Government has a choice to make. Design subsidies and incentives around improving sustainable food production or risk a 'leave it to the markets' approach which will see more of our food supply sourced offshore. Nick sees it as a basic societal issue, not simply a supply chain issue.
The podcast also deals with labour issues that are besetting the food industry and also with the pressure that ill-thought-through free trade agreements, like the one we've struck with Australia, put further pressure on Britain's food producers.
Perhaps the key message to whoever forms the next government is to properly consult with industry before forming policies and agreeing deals. Without the input of those on-the-ground people and companies who are on the frontline of food production, it's easy to miss complexities and detail that can have a long tail of negative consequences if they're ignored by policymakers.