TURKEY farmers are warning households may miss out on their Christmas Day roasts due to hen flu and hovering power prices.
The Nationwide Farmers Union (NFU) say the poultry sector has skilled a “very troublesome yr”, which may go away some farmers struggling to maintain up with demand.
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The UK produces almost a billion birds a yr for consuming as meat, and produces 9 to 10 million turkeys for Christmas alone.
However the UK has confronted its largest-ever outbreak of hen flu, or avian flu (AI), previously yr, with 190 circumstances confirmed throughout the nation since late October 2021.
And there was a staggering 55 circumstances declared in simply three weeks, in accordance with information from the Animal and Plant Well being Company.
Almost 3.5million birds have been culled in whole.
The state of affairs is especially extreme in East Anglia the place business hen keepers are being hit.
Necessary housing measures for all poultry and captive birds in Norfolk, Suffolk and elements of Essex had been launched earlier in October.
However the illness is not the one concern farmers have this yr.
Hovering power payments and enter prices have additionally put strain on producers as they head into their busiest time of the yr.
NFU poultry board chair James Mottershead stated: “Turkey producers are working laborious to keep up manufacturing within the face of AI, in addition to hovering power and enter prices, to make sure there stays an ample provide of British turkeys this Christmas.
“We are going to proceed to work with the federal government to minimise the impacts of any future outbreaks of avian influenza in order that we don’t expertise one other yr like this one.”
However some specialists, comparable to UK chief veterinary officer Dr Christine Middlemiss, consider there may be nonetheless hope that shortages will be prevented.
She stated: “While it’s devastating for these explicit firms affected, within the general meals provide in the mean time we don’t consider it’s going to have a major impression.”
Authorities officers stated the chance to public well being from the virus may be very low and correctly cooked poultry and eggs are suitable for eating.
It is not the primary time this yr that buyers have needed to cope with shortages.
Buyers seen limits on some grocery staples earlier this yr, comparable to bottles of cooking oil, eggs and bread.
A few of these shortages had been because of the battle in Ukraine, with the warfare inflicting important disruption to manufacturing.
However followers of massive chains like KFC, Pizza Hut and Burger King are additionally warning strike motion may trigger disruption to meals provides within the run-up to Christmas.
The GMB Union stated the quick meals chains might be impacted by shortages if employees at one in every of its suppliers down instruments.
