AN Essex farmer has called on the Government to issue visas to specialised butchers in the face of the pig industry “which is beyond breaking point”.

Tom Bradshaw, who is the vice president of the National Farming Union, wants a Covid recovery visa to be granted to tackle a shortfall of labour in the abattoir industry.

The labour shortages are being blamed on Brexit and the covid pandemic.

The British Meat Processors Association, said the workforce in abattoirs are on average about 15 per cent down.

Once a pig gets too big, its butchered processed carcass will no longer fit into supermarket packets so retailers do not want to buy it from farmers.

Mr Bradshaw, who farms at Fordham, added: “We saw last weekend an announcement of 5,000 visa for HGV drivers and 5,500 visas for poultry workers.

“I just cannot understand why pigs are not include on that list.

“My fear is we are looking back to decisions made five years ago about leaving the EU rather than looking forward.

“We need to look at the problem we have today and put a solution in place and clearly the problem is critical in some sectors – particularly pigs.

“We just need to look at the solutions that are needed for those problems today.

“It is clearly in the short-term an immigration solution.

“What we are going to end up with is producing less of our food, importing more where it will still be reliant on those exact workers we are not letting do the jobs here.”

He added: “I thought the idea of Brexit was taking back control and being able to make decisions.

“This is an decision that needs making and they need to get on and make it and if not they are overseeing a reduction in the UK’s capability to feed itself.”

There were similar calls for action from Cheale Meats, a family run abattoir which has been operating in Brentwood for over 30 years but which is up 15 per cent down on its workforce.

General manager Adam Cheale said: “People say furlough may be the answer but to be honesty before we had Brexit we didn’t have many British people who were willing to work in this industry.

“That’s not going to change. People say it’s a low pay industry. It’s not but it’s not for everyone.

“Some people don’t want to do this kind of job which I can completely understand.

“But it’s a job that has to be done and the people who are prepared to do it tend to be Eastern European.

“It is an industry which is beyond breaking point. It’s just crippled.”

A Government spokesperson said: “We understand the importance of seasonal labour and we are aware of the challenges that the pig industry has faced in recent months because of the Covid-19 pandemic and labour shortages.

"We are keeping the market under close review and continuing to work closely with the sector to explore options to address the pressures industry is currently facing.”