Fruit prices '˜would double without migrant labour'

A bleak forecast is made in a new report published today in which farm analysts predict that a bad Brexit labour deal could “crush” the country’s “hugely successful” horticultural industry.

Soft fruit production has risen exorbitantly over the last 20 years, by 131 per cent, in large part due to an increase in home-grown strawberries, the report states.

But without workers to harvest crops, prices for strawberries and raspberries could double.

In total, the industry is now worth more than £1.2bn to the nation’s economy.

Laurence Olins, chairman of British Summer Fruits, the industry body that commissioned the report and represents the growers of 97 per cent of all berries supplied to UK supermarkets, said: “This is as extreme as it gets. If we do not have the pickers, we do not have a soft fruit industry.”

He warned that Brexit is already exacerbating a “worrying” shortage of the seasonal labour which sustains the horticulture sector.

Mr Olins added: “It is inconceivable that people who voted to leave the European Union wanted to destroy an iconic and incredibly competitive British horticulture industry, and see the end of buying British produce.

“But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed to produce soft fruit in Britain, that will be an unintended consequence of Brexit - along with soaring prices and increased reliance on imports.”

Alison Capper, chairman of the National Farmers’ Union’s horticulture board, said: “Farmers and growers need a commitment from government that they will have access to the workforce they need up to and after we leave the EU. It’s vital that the crucial importance of migration for low-skilled work is recognised. Until now, high skilled migration has received priority treatment. We challenge why this should be the case, when vital sectors of the economy - such as food and drink - rely heavily on larger numbers of EU workers.”