Millions of apples have been left to rot on the trees owing to a Brexit-led employment slump that has resulted in European pickers abandoning the country.
Figures provided to The Times by The National Farmers’ Union revealed that fruit and vegetables is rotting in orchards and fields because of a shortage of workers.
One hundred tonnes of fruit has gone unpicked in Britain already this season. This means that rather than heading for apple pressing or processing plants, shops, or fruit storage facilities, more than 16 million apples so far have been left to rot at the peak of harvest season due to a Brexit-led employment slump.
EU workers make up a reported 99 per cent of the seasonal picking workforce, but they are looking elsewhere for work due to the weakening pound and confusion over visa regulations.
Christmas vegetables
Popular winter vegetables could also be left unpicked, with concern expressed over the availability of Brussels sprouts, carrots, parsnips and broccoli in the run-up to Christmas.
Industry experts believe that the country would need 70,000 workers to plug the gap.
Ali Capper, chairwoman of the NFU’s horticultural board and an apple producer, said that she had never seen crop wastage like it.
Train crash
She added: “It’s a train crash. Last year we didn’t have these issues. This year there’s already wastage of 16 million apples.”
A Herefordshire grower said she had lost up to 87,000 punnets of raspberries this season because of a lack of EU workers.
She told ITV that her farm was short of 100 pickers.
Another farmer in Scotland said that they had been forced to leave eight tonnes of class one strawberries — those that are the perfect shape, colour and smell — to rot.
Points-based system
The government said that a two-year seasonal workers pilot scheme, which has created a new immigration subcategory, was “designed to test the effectiveness of our immigration system at alleviating seasonal labour shortages during peak production periods”.
A spokesman added: “We are actively engaging with the wider agricultural sector on the future system and the home secretary has commissioned the independent Migration Advisory Committee to consider a points-based system.”
Related: Labour says Johnson could be in contempt of Parliament after Brexit letter
Strange. Apparently UK owners are dependent on shiploads of middle eastern and African migrants organized by the EU working for pence a day, rather than hiring local Brits?
Cuz local Brits are lazy AF and would prefer to continue scrounging off benefits
They get paid exactly the same wage as Brits. but the Brits won’t do it. Believe me, I worked for an agency supplying workers to factories and fruit packing warehouses and we had to tell the overseas workers that we could not put them down for 7 12 hours shifts a week. The few Brits who came asking, often because they were about to get evicted if they had no job, almost all decided they would rather be homeless or on benefits than work 4 twelve hour shifts. The few that agreed usually just did not turn up on the first day and that is not an exaggeration.
Potato picking as a teenager was one of my main incomes – hard work though. I wondered if they actually placed any ads for casual workers around their local villages?
Where is all those British people who didnt get the jobs beacause EU workers are steling them?
Probs all GM and sprayed anyway . If the birds won’t eat it, why should we have to
What a load of crap, do farmers advertise jobs? Do they go to agencies for cheap labor workers? There are plenty of people on benefits who can do the work. They should be made to do the jobs and earn the benefit.
I agree, there are plenty of british people that could do this. But they wont because were a lazy nation. Now were on the verge of independance, were confused that we have to do our own chores.
It is the exact same thing in the USA. Immigrants are stealing jobs, but no one want to do the work that immigrants are willing to do, so crops rot in the fields. This is not a labor problem, this is a right-wing nationalism problem.
This sounds like a big price hike on its way,if you are a farmer get out and get it done ,notice at the end there was a reference to winter veg being in danger prices going up it sounds like!!!
Comments about immigrants “stealing ” jobs are complete B S. If these jobs are available to “steal”, it is only because the ignorant, lazy, workshy slobs that make these comments allow them to be available. If they got off their fat,lazy backsides and did the work instead of whining about others then, the so called “immigrants stealing jobs” issue would not exist .
So why isn’t the NFU notifying us (the UK public) that there’s 16 million apples that need picking…? How can we help? Distribute to those in need?