Coronavirus Industry Update 19th March 2020

Supply shortages

Having spoken to Quality Meat Scotland, SAMW and corporate members we are assured that there are no difficulties in getting supplies to the plants. There is plenty stock on the farms with the reduction in demand from the catering sector balancing out the increase in the retail sector.

There is a general supply shortage of poultry with suppliers limiting orders to try to ensure all shops get something.

Boxed Beef is limited in Scotland with suppliers we have spoken to saying the problem is that they are struggling to get it processed quickly enough. However, there is no supply problems with bone in beef.

Lamb and Pork do not have any supply problems but may not be hung too long prior to being delivered to the retail shops.

Staffing shortages and temporary relief.

Some members are informing us that they are looking for temporary staff to cover the extra workload and their own staff shortages.

There is an option to take on staff from the catering sector who are out of work now. If you are looking for staff, then we would recommend that you advertise this on social media as that will reach your local area faster.

The Scottish Wholesalers Association are informing us that many of their members have drivers and refrigerated vans available to do deliveries. You may wish to contact your local wholesaler companies to ask.

Lockdown possibility.

The possibility of “Lockdown” is something that several members have asked us about. There seems to be no plans to lockdown food businesses, currently.
However, as the current situation is rapidly changing, we should be aware that we may have to move to a delivery only service and adapt as guided by the government.

We at the Scottish Craft Butchers office in Perth are still operating as normal.
However, we may have to advise staff to work from home soon.
We will be available to our members to answer any queries via email or by mobile phone and will be available out of office hours for any members wanting to contact us.

Our contact details are below
Gordon King: – [email protected] 07917524313
Bruce McCall: – [email protected] 07857698322