From Devon to Vietnam there is a long distance and expensive logistics but even so the costs improve
Staff shortage drives local company to process crabs in Vietnam
UNITED KINGDOM
Wednesday, January 16, 2019, 01:50 (GMT + 9)
Blue Sea Food Company, based in Paington, Devon, England, will send crabs caught in UK to Asia, since it does not enough staff in the country.
The company will transfer 20 percent of its production to Vietnam, according to BBC.
Devon crabs are caught using pots that are laid on the sea bed in strings. Pots are a selective and passive form of fishing causing no damage to the marine environment.(Photo: Sea Blue Food Co.)
Within the framework of the reached agreement, the company will send to Vietnam frozen cooked crab claws, to be picked and bagged there. Then, the claw meat will be shipped back to the UK, where it will be mixed with locally picked parts.
Hands on Approach - once the day boats have landed their crabs Sea Blue Food cook them for only as long as necessary depending on the season.(Photo: Sea Blue Food Co.)
The company said it was hiring local workers, but that it was also concerned about their future.
60 percent of the crab-processing company's 150 staff come from the European Union, mainly from Bulgaria.
"It's not very sexy and it's not something that people generally want to come and do. We try very hard to get people to come and work from the local community," said company director Dawn Spencer.
The demand for its crab is due to increase by nearly a third this year, largely driven by the Chinese market, the company reported to BBC Inside Out South West.
Expertise staff then pick out the meat using a combination of machines and nimble fingers to offer quality crab meat (Photo: Sea Blue Food Co.)
"In the next 12 months we should be landing a further thousand tonnes of crab - that means that we need more staff in the factory," Dawn explained. "To mitigate that risk of not being able to get those staff, we've had to outsource some production to Vietnam," she added.
According to the new rules set by the UK government, lower-skilled and unskilled migrants would be subject to a temporary 12-month limit on working in the UK , which implies an additional concern for the crab company.
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