London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Aug 22, 2025

Food production in the UK at risk of moving overseas, warns industry

Food production in the UK at risk of moving overseas, warns industry

Food manufacturing in the UK is under such strain due to staff shortages that some production may have to move out of the country, a retail group has said.

Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) said shortages of HGV drivers and other supply chain staff meant that the sector was "just on the edge of coping" right now.

He warned the Christmas period would be "incredibly challenging" in some areas.

Factories cannot recruit enough staff, he said, adding: "We are struggling."

Mr Opie, the BRC's director of food and sustainability, was speaking at a special session of the UK Trade and Business Commission, an independent group of business representatives and MPs looking to make recommendations to the government.

Asked about the impact of driver shortages, Mr Opie told the commission it was incredibly challenging for the industry, but said he was more concerned about shortages in manufacturing and food processing.

"Despite every effort that's being made by food factories, we cannot recruit enough indigenous people here. They just do not want to do those roles for whatever reason," Mr Opie said.

"That leaves the government with a choice. Does it want to maintain the level of food manufacturing as it stands at the moment in this country, or does it risk offshoring that production to other countries and then we import those finished goods into the UK," he added.

"We've got a very highly skilled, well run food manufacturing sector in this country at the moment which exports quite widely. It's under such strain at the moment and if we cannot recruit people and fill those vacancies, then retailers who buy those products to sell to us as consumers will need to look elsewhere and will end up offshoring some of that production into places like Europe," he told the commission.

"I think the government faces quite a stark choice here about where it wants to put its resources, where it wants to put its immigration policy, and where it wants to put the economy, in terms of the products that are manufactured here in the UK," he added.

A government spokesperson said the UK's food supply chain was "highly resilient".

It said it had expanded a pilot scheme for six-months visas for overseas workers to come to the UK to 30,000 workers this year, but urged employers to "make long term investments in the UK domestic workforce instead of relying on labour from abroad".

'Perfect storm'


Richard Harrow, from the British Federation of Frozen Food, agreed that there were shortages across the sector, not just drivers.

"We've got a shortage of engineers, of butchers, of production operatives," he said.

"And if you haven't got the staff to produce the product, even if you've got a lorry to transport it, you can't supply that product."

He added: "I've never seen the pressures our members are under right now, from labour costs to the price of raw materials. We are facing what I can only describe as a perfect storm."

Alex Veitch from UK Logistics said the backlog in HGV drivers test because of the pandemic was one of the main factors behind driver shortages.

UK Logistics said it would like a temporary visa for drivers to come and work in the UK

"People will be attracted to these roles because wages are rising substantially. We estimate that starting salaries have gone up by at least £5,000 from a base of £25,000.

"It's not so much a problem of finding people who want to be drivers. It's getting them a driver test," he added.

"Short term, we'd like movement on a temporary visa for drivers to come and work in the UK."

The BRC's Andrew Opie agreed, telling the commission the industry just needed "breathing space" to allow for UK drivers to be recruited and tested.

"We've got vacancies. We will pay more to attract drivers here. We don't see it as a major change in immigration policy. It would be a short-term measure," he said. "That could make a massive change for us overnight."

Less choice


During the hearing, all three business groups acknowledged that Christmas could present problems, though they didn't anticipate any major shortages.

"We're not seeing major shortages and not anticipating that, but it's the constant challenge, trying to keep head above water. There's no slack in system," Mr Opie said

"Christmas is going to be incredibly challenging in some areas. There might be small scale disruption. Even delivery times for online could be more difficult. It's too early to predict, but not too early for the government to do something to make sure there isn't a problem," he added.

Mr Harrow from the British Federation of Frozen Food said his members would normally be laying down stock for Christmas right now, but that they currently haven't got the capacity to do that, though he said he doesn't expect big shortages at this stage.

"What we are more likely to see is a reduction in choice, rather than shortages," he said.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
After 200,000 Orders in 2 Minutes: Xiaomi Accelerates Marketing in Europe
Ukraine Declares De Facto War on Hungary and Slovakia with Terror Drone Strikes on Their Gas Lifeline
Animated K-pop Musical ‘KPop Demon Hunters’ Becomes Netflix’s Most-Watched Original Animated Film
New York Appeals Court Voids Nearly $500 Million Civil Fraud Penalty Against Trump While Upholding Fraud Liability
Elon Musk tweeted, “Europe is dying”
Far-Right Activist Convicted of Incitement Changes Gender and Demands: "Send Me to a Women’s Prison" | The Storm in Germany
Hungary Criticizes Ukraine: "Violating Our Sovereignty"
Will this be the first country to return to negative interest rates?
Child-free hotels spark controversy
North Korea is where this 95-year-old wants to die. South Korea won’t let him go. Is this our ally or a human rights enemy?
Hong Kong Launches Regulatory Regime and Trials for HKD-Backed Stablecoins
China rehearses September 3 Victory Day parade as imagery points to ‘loyal wingman’ FH-97 family presence
Trump Called Viktor Orbán: "Why Are You Using the Veto"
Horror in the Skies: Plane Engine Exploded, Passengers Sent Farewell Messages
MSNBC Rebrands as MS NOW Amid Comcast’s Cable Spin-Off
AI in Policing: Draft One Helps Speed Up Reports but Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns
Shame in Norway: Crown Princess’s Son Accused of Four Rapes
Apple Begins Simultaneous iPhone 17 Production in India and China
A Robot to Give Birth: The Chinese Announcement That Shakes the World
Finnish MP Dies by Suicide in Parliament Building
Outrage in the Tennis World After Jannik Sinner’s Withdrawal Storm
William and Kate Are Moving House – and the New Neighbors Were Evicted
Class Action Lawsuit Against Volkswagen: Steering Wheel Switches Cause Accidents
Taylor Swift on the Way to the Super Bowl? All the Clues Stirring Up Fans
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Apple Expands Social Media Presence in China With RedNote Account Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Cambridge Dictionary Adds 'Skibidi,' 'Delulu,' and 'Tradwife' Amid Surge of Online Slang
Bill Barr Testifies No Evidence Implicated Trump in Epstein Case; DOJ Set to Release Records
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
The CEO Who Replaced 80% of Employees for the AI Revolution: "I Would Do It Again"
Emails Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
JPMorgan Plans New Canary Wharf Tower
Zelenskyy and his allies say they will press Trump on security guarantees
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
The Drought in Britain and the Strange Request from the Government to Delete Old Emails
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
"No, Thanks": The Mathematical Genius Who Turned Down 1.5 Billion Dollars from Zuckerberg
The surprising hero, the ugly incident, and the criticism despite victory: "Liverpool’s defense exposed in full"
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
×