Further pressure on staffing is coming from staff absenteeism as workers isolate at home because of Covid.
Easing some of this pressure was the Government announcing in August an agreement that includes access to migrant workers for entry-level red meat processing roles at $24 per hour with a cap on visa numbers.
However, Meat Industry Association chief executive Sirma Karapeeva said this would only go some way to addressing labour shortages.
She said the companies would ultimately need an additional cap of overseas migrants to make up the shortfall.
"Without sufficient labour, companies cannot run their processing plants at full capacity.
"This means less opportunities for hard-working Kiwis, often in the regions to earn a good wage, and longer waiting times for farmers to get their livestock processed.
"That can have a flow-on impact for animal welfare, farmer wellbeing and the regional economy."
Migrants account for less than 5% of a workforce dominated by New Zealand workers.
The association said they still play a critical role with 10 migrant workers enabling one night shift to run at a plant, employing 70 New Zealanders.
"Without sufficient labour, companies may be forced to reduce value-add processing by either sending more parts of the carcass for rendering into lower value meat and bone meal or freezing carcasses rather than further processing into value-add chilled and boneless cuts," Ms Karapeeva said.
The association called last month’s addition of halal butchers to the Government’s Green List work-to-residence tier a positive first step.
Halal butchers join the Green List from March, with applicants able to count time on a work visa from September 29, 2021 towards their work to residence requirement.
Ms Karapeeva said the meat processing and exporting industry had a chronic shortage of halal butchers and had been urging the Government to make it easier for companies to recruit them for some time.
She said halal processing helped capture greater value for meat products as different parts of the same carcass could be sent to different markets.
Halal-certified products contributed billions of dollars to export earnings New Zealand companies relied on about 250 halal butchers, she said.
"Our sector can typically recruit only 100 halal butchers domestically due to this country’s small Muslim population and the nature of the job.
"A religious component is a fundamental part of the job because they must be a practising Muslim, which we obviously cannot train for.
"We have no other choice but to look overseas to fill the vacancies."
Ms Karapeeva said the industry eventually wanted a special work visa for halal butchers.
