The high gas price in Europe now also threatens the traditional British Christmas meal: the turkey. Earlier this week it was announced that fertilizer company CF Industries has temporarily closed its two factories in the United Kingdom due to high gas prices. That decision now also jeopardizes turkey farming, Britain’s largest turkey supplier warns Sky News.
–
Ranjit Singh Boparan, owner of Bernard Matthews and 2 Sisters Food Group, says this decision, combined with the dire labor shortage, will have an impact on Christmas supplies.
CO2 is an important by-product of the fertilizer company and that CO2 is important in the slaughtering and cooling of poultry. “We are now less than a hundred days from Christmas and our companies are working harder than ever to ensure supplies,” said Boparan. The businessman has been complaining for months about a shortage of workers – he is looking for about a thousand employees – and now the CO2 shortage is on top of that. “This brings us to a breaking point,” it sounds.
According to him, the problem also arises for other crops, such as pork and beef. The British Secretary of State for Industry Kwasi Kwarteng had a meeting with a number of businessmen on Saturday about the CO2 shortage. Afterwards, the minister tweeted that there is no cause for concern.
But according to Boparan, there is indeed a “national security problem” that should be solved as soon as possible, for example by allocating CO2 stocks as a priority to the food sector. The fertilizer sector is strategically important, it still sounds, and so it should not just close because of price inflation. “That is irresponsible (…) the government must intervene or we must cancel Christmas again.”
– .
