Labour looms large for fruit and veg sector

13th January 2017 by Cedric Porter

Pixabay_Berries

Labour and trade arrangements will be two major issues for the UK fruit and vegetable sectors after Brexit, argues Cedric Porter in the last of his Brexit specials.

Yorkshire carrot grower Guy Poskitt puts it like this: “If you took migrant workers out of the UK fruit and veg supply chain within five days you would have no fresh British produce on the supermarket shelves.”

The British Growers Association estimates that the horticulture industry employs 80,000 seasonal workers a year and that it will need 95,000 by the end of the decade with a large percentage of those workers from overseas, mainly the European Union. Figures quoted by the AHDB show 38% of those employed in food manufacturing, which includes packing, are migrants and that alongside construction and manufacturing, agriculture has the highest percentage of hard to fill vacancies at nearly 50% of all the jobs on offer. In the 2015 NFU seasonal labour survey, 43% of fruit grower respondents said they experienced problems in getting the staff they needed and anecdotally it is clear that problem has intensified this year.

Currently most fruit and vegetable operations have established systems in place that involve a small core of permanent staff who are supplemented by temporary labour throughout the year when they are needed. In larger farms staff will be provided with purpose-built accommodation and transport. All are overseen by regulation that prevents exploitation and ensure the payment of a minimum wage.

The expansion of the EU to include Eastern European countries was the reason that in 2013 the Government abolished the 65 year old Seasonal Agricultural Workers scheme which allowed overseas workers to enter the UK to work for a defined amount of time. By 2012 more than 21,000 workers were entering through the scheme. Many organisations have called for the resurrection of such a scheme that would allow willing workers from any part of the world.

Think tank Migration Watch has urged the Government to encourage some of the 1.6 million unemployed and 1.6 under-employed into work in the horticulture sector. Previous schemes to bring more British workers into the sector have had limited success and the fact that most unemployed people are in heavily urban areas that are a long way from the main fruit and vegetable growing area would be a barrier to success.

Labour will be a key issue for the fruit and vegetable sector come Brexit, but it does not seem unreasonable for the industry to seek a scheme that allows growers to get the worker it needs, while allowing for the migration control that the public expect after the Brexit referendum.

Trade optimism

While, the fruit and vegetable sector may be concerned about future labour arrangements, it may be encouraged by future trade arrangements. In the year to the end of October the UK exported £629 million of vegetables, but imported £3.880 billion (a £3.251 billion deficit). Fruit exports were at just £395 million, while imports were at £5.585 billion (a £5.190 billion deficit). More than three quarters of vegetable imports and nearly half of fruit imports came from the EU in the last year. Any restrictions on trade imports from the EU into the UK could reduce those volumes and encourage UK fruit and vegetable production. The recent weakening of the pound appears to have already have had an effect with October fruit exports at their highest by value for the month ever.

There is plenty of scope for increased fruit and vegetable production, especially if Government 5-a-day targets are to be met.

The UK fruit area has dropped by a third since 1985 to less than 30,000 hectares. That loss has been focused on the open fruit sector as the glasshouse fruit area has increased tenfold to 220 hectares in the last 30 years. The UK vegetable area peaked in the early 1990s at nearly 190,000 hectares. It is now down a quarter, although there has been a small increase in area since 2010.

Unlike other sectors, there will be less fear about the future of agricultural support in the fruit and vegetable sector. Mostly unsupported for the last 50 years, fruit and vegetable growers have had to use innovation and build relationships with customers to survive. Brexit will not change that attitude, while restrictions on labour availability and trade may even speed that innovation up. Growers who expect that Brexit will lead to a bonfire of regulations on fruit and vegetable production are likely to be disappointed. Although rules on pesticides are driven by Brussels, the UK will lose access to the EU market if it abandons them after Brexit. It may be able to introduce new products before the EU, but in reality most of the standards that UK growers produce to are higher than those required by the EU and are driven by demands from retailers and consumers. There will be more potential in capturing export markets by emphasising the standards of UK produce and its assurance schemes such as Red Tractor and LEAF than lowering standards to cut costs.

If the thorny issue of labour can be sorted, then there is a bright post-Brexit future for the fruit and veg sector. If it is not then we will see fewer union flags on our supermarket’s fresh produce shelves.

Fruit and veg facts

  • UK fruit supply per head has risen by 50% since 1990 to 67kgs a year¹
  • UK vegetable supply has risen by 14% since 1990 to 75kgs a head¹
  • Eating seven portions of fruit and veg a day can reduce the risk of death from natural causes by a third²
  • Bananas, apples and oranges account for 80% of UK fruit consumption³
  • Potatoes, carrots and onions account for 71% of UK vegetable consumption³
  • ⁴ The world will need to produce another 115% more fruit a year by 2050 to keep up with projected demand
  • ⁴ The wold will need to produce another r60% more vegetables a year to keep up with projected demand

Brexit fruit and veg

Brexit fruit and veg 2

Sources of information

  • ¹ Defra