Is chicken next to vanish from supermarkets?

SHOPPERS and fast-food fans face a shortage of home-produced chicken amid claims supermarkets are refusing to pay farmers enough to cover costs.

The British Poultry Council (BPC) highlighted figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, which measures the output of farmers producing the meat we will eat in the coming months.

These put the figure at 20.8million units a week through February, down from 26.8million a week in the same month last year – a fall of more than 22 per cent. Chicken accounts for around half of the meat eaten by families in the UK, so a fall in production could have a serious impact.

Costs have been driven up by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has increased the price of feed, energy and transport. At the same time, the industry is blighted by labour shortages. The National Farmers’ Union has accused supermarkets of failing to pay farmers a fair price for their produce, leading to cutbacks and shortages.

The BPC said: ‘Year-on-year increases in production costs are at 18 per cent and rising, and members aren’t seeing the returns despite the price of fresh chicken increasing 12.5 per cent over the same period.

‘It is simple – costs are outpacing what is being paid by supermarkets.’

The trade group wants the Government to ensure supermarkets pay a fair price for home-produced food. On the impact of the crisis, it said: ‘If producers continue to be undermined by price, we will see staple products affected, imports fill shelves, and the eradication of a British success story. We’re closer to the cliff edge than ever.’

Andrew Opie, of the British Retail Consortium, which represents supermarkets, said retailers were supporting farmers while ‘also facing additional costs and working incredibly hard to limit price increases for consumers’.