Farmers unions have warned the government that 50,000 tonnes of fresh fruit and vegetables may have to be left to rot this summer because of tightening immigration laws.
Poles are now returning home because their native country's economy is booming. It is not just Poles who have helped British farmers. But it is likely the labour shortage will result in supermarkets importing large quantities of produce from countries such as the Netherlands to make up the shortfall in stock and we could see prices rising above current levels of about £2.50 for a kilogram of strawberries and £2.99 for a punnet of raspberries.
One reason being put forward for the staffing problems by growers is a government decision to reduce the number of workers allowed to enter Britain on a longstanding scheme aimed at foreign students.
The Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS), which had previously allowed workers from non-EU countries such as Ukraine and Belarus to do the low-skilled picking work in Britain, is this year restricted to citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, who are members of the EU.
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