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downsmail.co.uk Fruit farms face picking crisis


FRUITfarms intheWealdofKent face staff shortages which could adversely affect their business as Britainheads forBrexit, according to an influential rural landown- ers’ body. As the cherry trees and berry


bushes groan under the weight of this year’s harvest, the CLA South East has called on government to reconsider its visa scheme post- departure fromthe EU. Numbers ofmigrants coming to


Kent to pick fruit has been tailing off for years, and while farmers have done much to make the UK attractive, there are many reasons to stop coming. For instance, the economy in


Poland is burgeoning and many eastern Europeans are being tempted neighbouring countries, where the pay is better and travel costs lower. The weakness of ster- ling is a factor, too. But the main issue is Brexit,


which, says the CLA, the govern- ment’s visa scheme of 2,500 places is not adequate to deal with. Some 60-80,000 seasonalmigrantworkers are needed annually.CLAregional


Hit by falling pound PAULHaralambie(34)first cametotheUKin 2005 and has been here more or less ever since. He acts as an agent, bringing in about 40


migrantworkers fromhis native Romania. The public administration graduate lives in


Coxheath with wife Anka, who has a degree in biochemistry. They are expecting their first child. He said: “It looksokay this year,but it isnot


the same as in previous years. Some of the guysare lookingtogotoplaces likeGermany wheretheyarepaidwell, iscloser tohomeand because the pound sterling has dropped.”


directorRobinEdwards said: “Kent has some industry-leading fruit farms, but many are facing short- ages in labour supplywhich could hit themhard.Many farmers have seena slowdowninEUlabour over the last few years. Under the gov- ernment’s pilot scheme, visas will be granted for up to 2,500 non-EU workers for six months, but that figure will be nowhere near enough to tackle shortages. “If gaps in labour supply con- tinue, farmerswill struggle to har-


vest produce and it could leave fruit rotting unpicked in the fields, whichwould be amassivewaste. “Farms aremaking big efforts to


recruit and retain staff, offering en- hanced accommodation, benefits and services, organising sporting events and socials for workers, helping with banking and paper- work. They need support from government to tackle the impacts of a shrinkingworkforce.” A spokesman for Chegworth Valley,which harvests apples later


inthe summer, saiditsworkforce is mostly foreign, as Englishworkers are difficult to find. Other farms have tried to bring


Britishstudents invia socialmedia, but not in sufficient numbers. Canterbury-based AG Recruit-


ment managing director Douglas Amesz echoed theCLAearlier this yearwhen he said: “It is not possi- ble to stop freedom of movement overnight. But if there is a no-deal Brexit, there cannot be an imple- mentation period.”


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