SUN Valley Foods is to cease preparing one of its most popular chicken products at its Hereford headquarters, one of the reasons being because local growers cannot meet the demand for poultry.

Instead it plans to buy the dish, ready manufactured from sources in Brazil.

Between 80 and 100 staff working in the Yazor Road factory will be affected by the changes.

But the company stressed there will be no redundancies, employees being re-deployed within the Sun Valley complex in Hereford.

Farmers in Herefordshire who grow millions of chickens and turkeys for Sun Valley every year have also been reassured about their future. 'We still need your poultry', was the message.

Sun Valley confirmed that it had been buying poultry meat from abroad for some time, saying not enough could be produced locally to meet their needs.

The company's decision to buy its Yazor Road-produced fresh-coated, flat chicken from Brazil in future is influenced by the value of the pound, which makes it cheaper to go abroad.

But it is also part of Sun Valley's development as a major international company with ever-expanding supply chains.

Yazor Road changes

Staff affected by the change at Yazor Road have been told the company is operating in a difficult commercial environment. All its activities were being continually reassessed to ensure the business remained viable.

A spokeswoman told The Hereford Times that some manufacturing would continue at Yazor Road and that new lines could be developed there in the future. With retailers calling the shots Sun Valley had to remain competitive and be ready to 'jump' to meet changing trends.

She said that all supplies of poultry meat bought from other countries had to meet the same stringent hygiene requirements as in Britain.

The sources were regularly monitored by Sun Valley with emphasis on quality and traceability. Foreign factories also had 'state of the art' facilities. The company would not put its reputation at stake by settling for less.

The changes in work-roles for staff affected at Sun Valley will come into effect at the start of June.

In a letter they have been asked for their continuing support of the company 'as we reshape our business to face the current challenges and those that lie ahead'.