In a statement, the British Meat Processors Association (BMPA) said that advice telling companies within the sector to employ more British people to fill current vacancies ignores the issues of whether they are physically able to do the jobs and whether they are willing and able to travel to where those jobs are.

According to the trade body, companies within the British meat industry are eager to employ local workers, but one-off costs of up to £15,000 to bring in staff from far afield are leaving them questioning policy makers. It’s not through choice that they are paying these prices, but out of necessity, says the BMPA.

Nick Allen, CEO of the BMPA said: “Just two of our members have committed a total of £10 million in the last 18 months to bring in the staff they need from abroad because suitable UK candidates are simply not available. It’s an extra cost on top of wages that we never had before we left the EU. It’s also in addition to a near 20% rise in wages. And to stay viable, these costs are having to be passed on to consumers, stoking food price inflation, and making British companies less competitive.”

Allen continued: “It’s an inconvenient truth, but many British workers, whether they’re ‘economically inactive’ or not, are either reluctant or physically unable to take up jobs in certain industries. Meat processing is one of those industries that struggles to fill vacancies from the local population.

“This is partly a perception issue (which we’re working on), but the bigger and more intractable issue is the lack of geographical mobility and the physically challenging working environment, neither of which we can change, either for productivity reasons or for food safety reasons.”

The BMPA said that the answer to the current issues lies somewhere between short term reliance on overseas workers and a longer-term shift in how this country perceives and values certain careers, but it can only do this with the engagement and support of Government, schools and education providers.