UK chicken shortage begins

British fast food restaurants Nando's have been forced to partially close due to a poultry shortage.

AFP - TOLGA AKMEN

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

The British are running out of chicken.

Not in stores or restaurants but in fast food chains, some of which are experiencing supply difficulties.

One of them, Nando's, even had to temporarily close 50 of its 400 establishments because of this shortage.

At issue: the lack of manpower throughout the logistics chain, a consequence of Covid-19 but also of Brexit.

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With our correspondent in London,

Claire Digiacomi

Carcasses of meat piled up on their plates, Mads and Sam, in their twenties, savor the last bites of their lunch.

They ended up tasting the famous roast chicken from the fast food chain Nando's, but after a first attempt was unsuccessful due to supply issues.

“ 

The address closest to us was closed so we came here,

 ” says Sam. “ 

I hope the situation will be resolved soon and that we can all have our chicken!

 Mads hopes.

The restaurant where the two friends had lunch escaped closing, but Vanessa, the manager, still had to adapt the hours: “ 

We had too many complaints from customers because we had no chicken wings or thighs.

So some days we had to close earlier.

 "

See also: United Kingdom: faced with the labor shortage, employers distribute bonuses

20% fewer Christmas turkeys

The entire poultry industry is disrupted.

The consequence of the pandemic, with absent employees, and of Brexit.

Since January 1, European recruits must have a visa, which is difficult to obtain.

We are very worried about the coming months and the Christmas season,"

says Natalie Chapman, regional manager of a logistics company.

Companies will need to hire a significant number of heavy truck drivers, but at this time we have no idea where those drivers will come from.

 "

Due to this lack of manpower, the British Poultry Association estimates that the production of Christmas turkeys will be cut by 20%.

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To listen: SMEs victims of Brexit

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