Bleak Christmas in Britain?

Meat shortages and delivery delays persist as producers warn of a cruel winter ahead

BUNGAY, England — To understand the deep sense of anxiety Britons feel about the supply shortages afflicting the nation — and threatening disruptions to the Christmas dinner table — one need only travel to Simon Watchorn’s pig farm, about two hours northeast of London.

In 2014, Watchorn was England’s pig farmer of the year, with a thriving business. But this year, he said, the outlook for the fall is bleak. Slaughterhouses are understaffed and are processing a smaller-thanusual number of pigs. There is a shortage of drivers to move pork to grocery stores and butcher shops. And there are fewer butchers to prepare the meat for consumers.

If the problems persist, Watchorn may have to start culling some of his 7,500 pigs by the end of next month. Pigs grow 15 pounds each week, and after a certain point, they are too big for slaughterhouses to process. Watchorn said the last time he can remember things being this bad was during an outbreak of mad cow disease in the late 1990s.

“It’s a muddle,” he said. “It’s worse than a muddle, it’s a disaster, and I don’t know when it’s going to finish.”

Watchorn, 66, is one of many producers of food and other goods warning of a daunting winter ahead for Britons. Shortages continued to bedevil the British economy this week as gas stations in London and in southeastern England reported trouble getting fuel, and the government began deploying military personnel to help ease the lack of drivers. Supermarket consortiums say pressures from rising transport costs, labor shortages and commodity costs are already pushing prices higher and will likely continue to do so.

The chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, acknowledged Monday on BBC Radio that there will shortages at Christmastime. He said the government was doing “everything we can” to mitigate the supply chain issues but admitted there was no “magic wand.”

Watchorn, who prides himself on running a farm where all adult stock live outside, is convinced that Brexit is responsible for the distress, saying that the exodus of European workers from Britain had led to labor shortages. The British people voted to break with the European Union to reduce immigration, he believes, without realizing how damaging a cliff-edge exit from the bloc would be for businesses.

“They didn’t vote for supermarket shortages,” he said Sunday as dozens of pigs gathered around him to be fed. “They didn’t understand that was going to be a probable, likely outcome.”

Sunak and other Conservative leaders say supply problems are a global issue attributable to the pandemic and not limited to Britain. Indeed, businesses around the world are facing rising energy prices, product shortages and labor shortages.

But the challenges in Britain are acute, with many industries facing a shortage of workers — in part because of the pandemic, but also, many business owners say, because of stricter immigration laws that came into effect after Britain’s exit from the European Union on Jan. 1.

“We are desperately trying to find workers,” said Jon Hare, a spokesman for the British Meat Processors Association, which estimates that Britain is short of about 25,000 butchers and processing plant workers.

ANDREW TESTA/THE NEW YORK TIMES Simon Watchorn feeds piglets at his pig farm Sunday near Bungay, England. Watchorn is convinced that Brexit is responsible for the current distress with the British economy suffering acute labor shortages.