The UK fresh produce industry is on the verge of a labour crisis that could lead to shortages of British fruit and vegetables on supermarket shelves this summer.
Producer organisations have warned there may be insufficient labour to harvest this year's crop.
A lack of workers from within the EU applying to work on horticultural farms, combined with the government's decision to restrict the Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme to Romanians and Bulgarians, has left many growers struggling to source temporary labour, they claimed.
The NFU and British Summer Fruits, which represents 92% of UK fruit growers supplying British supermarkets, called on the government to change the regulations governing migrant workers.
"Without a change to the existing restrictive rules relating to seasonal labour, British growers may be unable to meet the growing consumer demand for home-grown soft fruit," said BSF chairman Laurence Olins. "The likely result is that imported berries, rather than British soft fruit, will be on supermarket shelves during the British season."
The SAWS scheme needed to be expanded and opened up to students beyond just Romania and Bulgaria, said Olins. "We have to address this issue if the British berry industry is to continue to thrive and attract internal investment."
The NFU claimed a shortage of pickers led to "millions of pounds" being lost last year as a result of unharvested produce. "Growers do try to recruit resident labour but without real success, despite a recent Low Pay Commission report showing the minimum wage in the UK is among the highest in the world," said chief horticultural adviser Philip Hudson. "Growers use seasonal migrant labour because without it crops would be left unpicked."
The National Farmers' Union agreed that the most likely outcome of a labour shortage would be an increase in imports at the expense of home-grown product on shelves.
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