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Farmers fear strawberry shortage
United Kingdom
Friday 30 May 2008
The strawberry fields of Langdon Manor Farm in rural Kent are bursting with ripe, juicy fruit.
But there is one problem. There are not enough people to pick them.
With the picking season in the UK getting under way this week, soft fruit farmers across the country are warning that their crop is already rotting in the fields and that supplies to supermarkets may run short. The owner of the farm, Alistair Brook, has traditionally relied on a large seasonal workforce from countries such as Poland and Lithuania to help pick his fruit. But this year, many of the workers have stayed at home. "If things don't improve, we'll not be able to harvest all our fruit, and if that continues across the whole economy, there will be food shortages," says Mr Brook. The industry body, British Summer Fruit, believes that the problem is getting so bad that supermarkets will be forced to import strawberries from California. At the root of the problem is the declining value of the pound and the improving economic prospects in countries where many of the workers have traditionally come from.
Patryk Ullrich from Poland has been working in the strawberry tunnels of Kent for two years, but says that the incentives are becoming increasingly less alluring. "At home our economy is getting better and better, the minimum wage has gone up and we have started building more," he says. "Many of my friends have decided to return to Poland because the wages are better over there." Since World War II, the government has awarded permits to seasonal workers, under the agreement that they return home after a certain number of months.
This year, the government has allowed 16,250 workers from Bulgaria and Romania through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme (Saws). Workers from these two countries are allowed to work for a maximum of six months in any seasonal agricultural job. In previous years, farmers have topped up their Saws quota with workers from EU countries like Poland and Lithuania. This year, however, that supply of labour has all but dried up.
But farmers say that there are plenty of willing workers: Bulgarians and Romanians see the government's programme as a fantastic opportunity to cash in on the plentiful supply of work, but cannot get a Saws permit.
But there is one problem. There are not enough people to pick them.
With the picking season in the UK getting under way this week, soft fruit farmers across the country are warning that their crop is already rotting in the fields and that supplies to supermarkets may run short. The owner of the farm, Alistair Brook, has traditionally relied on a large seasonal workforce from countries such as Poland and Lithuania to help pick his fruit. But this year, many of the workers have stayed at home. "If things don't improve, we'll not be able to harvest all our fruit, and if that continues across the whole economy, there will be food shortages," says Mr Brook. The industry body, British Summer Fruit, believes that the problem is getting so bad that supermarkets will be forced to import strawberries from California. At the root of the problem is the declining value of the pound and the improving economic prospects in countries where many of the workers have traditionally come from.
Patryk Ullrich from Poland has been working in the strawberry tunnels of Kent for two years, but says that the incentives are becoming increasingly less alluring. "At home our economy is getting better and better, the minimum wage has gone up and we have started building more," he says. "Many of my friends have decided to return to Poland because the wages are better over there." Since World War II, the government has awarded permits to seasonal workers, under the agreement that they return home after a certain number of months.
This year, the government has allowed 16,250 workers from Bulgaria and Romania through the Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme (Saws). Workers from these two countries are allowed to work for a maximum of six months in any seasonal agricultural job. In previous years, farmers have topped up their Saws quota with workers from EU countries like Poland and Lithuania. This year, however, that supply of labour has all but dried up.
But farmers say that there are plenty of willing workers: Bulgarians and Romanians see the government's programme as a fantastic opportunity to cash in on the plentiful supply of work, but cannot get a Saws permit.
