HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British...

16
From British Summer Fruits HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY & the implications for food prices, the nation’s health, the economy & food security

Transcript of HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British...

Page 1: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

F r o m B r i t i s h S u m m e r F r u i t s

HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH

OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY

& t h e i m p l i c a t i o n s f o r f o o d p r i c e s , t h e n a t i o n ’ s h e a l t h , t h e e c o n o m y

& f o o d s e c u r i t y

Page 2: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 3P A G E 2

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

forewordBritish strawberries are a quintessential part of the Great British summertime, but our decision to leave the European Union threatens to cripple home-grown berry production, increase our dependence on imports and drive up the price of soft fruit.

Brexit is already exacerbating a worrying shortage of the seasonal labour needed to tend and harvest strawberries and other soft fruit, and MPs have been warned that losing access to European workers will have a “disastrous and cataclysmic” impact on the industry.1

Many producers are warning this is as extreme as it gets. If we do not have pickers, we do not have a soft fruit industry.

Soft fruit growers employ around 29,000 seasonal workers a year, with around 95% coming from the European Union, primarily Poland, Bulgaria and Romania, and demand is expected to rise to around 31,000 by 2020 if the industry continues to grow.

But if seasonal workers are not found for these jobs, we could see fruit being left unpicked in fields or growers moving their operations to countries with a ready supply of labour. As the House of Commons’ Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee was told: ‘If you cannot get the labour in this country, the production will go to where the labour is.’2

Either option would create a huge hole in our balance of payments and destroy a highly competitive industry which is worth more than £1.2 billion a year.3 Price rises and a fall in consumption would also be inevitable.

As the industry body which accounts for 97% of all berries supplied to UK supermarkets, British Summer Fruits believe we have an obligation to assess the extent of the risk and alert consumers to the implications of the Brexit decision. So British Summer Fruits commissioned Andersons the Farm Business Consultants to produce an independent report outlining the issues. It paints a bleak picture of a future without access to EU labour.

The Impact of Brexit on the UK Soft Fruit Industry, a report by John Pelham (The Andersons’ Brexit & Seaonal Labour Report), predicts:

▶ Prices for strawberries and raspberries will rise by 35 to 50%

▶ A slump in Government revenue from income tax, corporation tax and National Insurance

▶ Falling soft fruit consumption

▶ Less soft fruit being grown in the UK

▶ Soft-fruit growers going out of businesses

▶ Significantly reduced food self-sufficiency

▶ A negative shift on the UK’s balance of payments as a result of increased imports

▶ Implications on the environments

It is inconceivable that people who voted to leave the European Union wanted to destroy an iconic and incredibly competitive British horticulture industry.

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, an increased reliance on imports and the environmental impact of additional food-miles.

This report sets out the key findings, and warnings, contained in The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, and provides wider context on the key economic, consumer and health impacts of the decision. But crucially, it also provides a simple and proven solution which would secure the future of an incredible horticultural and consumer success story.

Laurence OlinsChairman of British Summer Fruits

Page 3: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 5P A G E 4

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

how the home-grown market has grown

British strawberries were once a fleeting treat, to be enjoyed for a few weeks around Wimbledon. Now much of the fruit sold from April to October is grown in the UK, and this year new methods of cultivation and glasshouse technologies saw the first British strawberries in shops in February. Production of other soft fruits such as raspberries, blackberries and blueberries, is climbing steadily.

John Pelham, author of The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, says: “The most important advances include the use of polytunnels, the use of commercial varieties of autumn fruiting strawberries and raspberries and the developing use of substrate as an alternative growing medium to soil.”

As a result, there has been a 131% surge in soft fruit production in the UK over the past 20 years.4

Strawberries and other soft fruit have become a healthy treat which can be enjoyed every day, and this increased supply coupled with competitive pricing means that soft fruit accounts for almost a quarter (22%) of all the fruit we buy.5

Britain’s berry industry is incredibly efficient and cost effective. In 1996, strawberry growers reported average yields of 9.9 tonnes per hectare and the quality of fruit was variable. By 2015 average yields had increased to 22.3 tonnes per hectare — an increase of 125% — and crop quality had improved dramatically.6

Over the same period, prices stayed around £2 per 400 grams, so the cost to consumers has effectively fallen. What was once a luxury purchase is now almost a staple supermarket buy, and this is reflected in shopping patterns.

John Pelham points out: “Whilst growers’ costs continue to increase through inflation, the value of their produce has remained static, with prices in 2015 little changed from 1996. This has been excellent for UK consumers and is doubtless an important factor in the very significant increases in soft fruit consumption in the UK.” Over the past 15 years, annual berry sales in the UK have grown from £113 million to more than £1.2 billion, with the average berry consumer buying more than 6kg (12lbs) of berries annually.7 Market penetration — the percentage of the population who have eaten strawberries — is now around 75 to 80%.8

However, the clearest evidence in the shift from luxury to staple is the surge in demand from discount supermarkets, where sales have grown by 40 to 50% over the past two years.9

This phenomenal growth would have been impossible without a steady supply of seasonal workers from Eastern Europe who are prepared to fill the jobs that British workers shun.

Page 4: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 7

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r yP A G E 6

J u n e 2 0 1 7

does seasonal work appeal to british workers?

P A G E 6

J u n e 2 0 1 7

The idea that this vital workforce can suddenly be recruited from amongst our local communities is an absolute nonsense. Written evidence from Farming and Rural

Issues Group South East 10

Five weeks before the Brexit vote, the Office of National Statistics released figures showing the number of EU nationals working in Britain had reached a record 2.1 million, prompting claims that immigration was “out of control”.11

At the time, leading Leave campaigner Iain Duncan Smith complained: “Brits on low pay — and those out of work — are forced to compete with millions of people from abroad for jobs.”12

Concerns around the number of EU citizens moving to the UK were undoubtedly a factor in the vote to leave, but the fact is we have the highest level of employment — 74.5% — since records began in 1971.13 Unemployment is 4.9% and falling, and it is estimated that around three-quarters of those who are registered as unemployed also claim disability or single parent benefits, which suggests they may not be able, or willing, to undertake physically demanding seasonal work.14

In many rural areas, where demand for seasonal labour is concentrated, unemployment is below 2% and even if every person registered for work were employed, there would still be a huge shortfall.15

A House of Commons Committee of MPs investing the issues reported: “A core problem for the sector is its difficulties in attracting UK staff.”16

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee was told that in Herefordshire, for instance, four large farms growing soft fruit and asparagus required 3,400 staff, but the most recent figures available showed there were only 769 registered jobseekers.17

MPs also heard of a number of initiatives which had tried, and failed, to encourage more UK citizens to undertake seasonal work in the horticulture sector. In 2015, Chris Chinn, who heads up a family farming business employing around 1,000 seasonal workers, partnered with labour suppliers HOPS to recruit 200 UK citizens from cities with high unemployment employment and give them with six weeks training.

“We tried to make it as easy as possible,” Chinn told the EFRA Committee.18 But half quit within the first week and only eight out of the original 200 worked to the end of the season. The following year, Chinn and HOPS tried to expand the scheme to recruit workers in Birmingham, Bristol and further afield, but were forced to admit defeat when they could only attract five workers.19

David Kay, of Hall Hunter Partnership, which employs around 3,000 seasonal labourer from 20 different countries, reports similar difficulties. “We have worked with job centres and with ex-prisoners, but British people don’t want to do these jobs.”

As a result, labour shortages are now the worst they have been since before 2004, when people from the A8 countries —the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia were given the right to work in the UK.20

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

Page 5: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 9P A G E 8

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

the workforce: who picks british berries?

These people come to earn, not sponge. When the winter comes they go home to their family and roots because these countries are secure and safe within the EU. They pay tax and National insurance.

The production of soft fruit in the UK is almost exclusively reliant on seasonal workers from the EU, a significant proportion of whom enter and leave the UK annually.

The Impact Brexit on the UK Soft Fruit Industry, a report by John Pelham, Andersons Midlands LLP

Hall Hunter Partnership, written evidence to EFRA Committee 21

Page 6: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1 0

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y P A G E 1 1H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

Many of the concerns around EU workers coming to the UK have focused on perceived pressures on housing, education, the health service and benefits system, but unlike economic migrants who settle permanently, seasonal workers place little or no demand on these services.

Accommodation is provided on the farms where they work, there are no children competing for school places and because these jobs are physically demanding, seasonal workers are by default healthy, relatively young, adults.

When they are not working, seasonal labourers spend money in the local community and some employers pump even more money into rural economies by laying on coach trips to local tourist attractions and other fringe benefits in a bid to recruit and retain staff. 22

John Pelham says: “Seasonal workers are often significant contributors to the local economy. They also contribute to the national economy by paying National Insurance.”

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee was told the seasonal labour workforce which travelled from the EU was made up of almost equal numbers of men and women, with the vast majority aged between 25 and 35.23 A decade ago, most came from Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic and there are still groups of brothers, sisters and cousins from these countries who return every year.

Now, the majority of seasonal workers are recruited from Bulgaria and Romania,24 although post-Brexit it is already becoming harder to fill these jobs.

Last year, net migration fell to its lowest level since March 2014 and figures from the Office of National Statics confirm fewer people are arriving from the EU8 countries which traditionally supplied much of the UK’s seasonal labour workforce — the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia.25

The EFRA Committee was told Romanian workers are increasingly turning down offers to work here saying they no longer feel welcome in the UK.26 The weaker pound has also effectively cut pay rates by around 12%, despite wage rises as a result of the introduction of the minimum living wage.27

They noted: “Employers told us that when recruiting in Romania and Bulgaria previously they had needed to speak

Seasonal workers are often significant contributors to the local economy. They also contribute to the national economy by paying National Insurance.

to three people to recruit one member of staff, now they were having to speak to eight.”28

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report, Feeding the nation: labour constraints, concluded: “The weight of evidence from a range of agricultural and horticultural businesses indicates that their sectors are facing considerable difficulties in recruiting and retaining labour.”29

And the EFRA Committee warned: “Evidence submitted to this inquiry suggests the current problem is in danger of becoming a crisis if urgent measures are not taken to fill the gaps in labour supply.”30

MPs warned: “It is vital that the labour supply available to the agriculture and horticulture sectors does not suddenly dry up as a result of any uncertainty caused by the new immigration arrangements instituted following the UK’s exit from the EU.

John Pelham says:

Page 7: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1 2

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y P A G E 1 3H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

economic impact: a thriving industry at risk

Very simply, if we do not have labour, we do not have a business.

Soft fruit grower, Chris Chinn 32

Failure to secure an adequate supply of labour will impact on both temporary and permanent positions, not just on-farm but also across the food supply chain.

National Farmers Union 31

Page 8: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1 5P A G E 1 4

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

The full impact of losing access to seasonal workers is difficult to estimate, but the The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Report, and the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report, Feeding the nation: labour constraints, highlight a number of inescapable and economically destructive outcomes.

The most obvious will be a rise in consumer prices. The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Report estimates that if UK producers move their operations to countries within the EU to ensure access to labour the price of strawberries will rise from around £2 per 400g punnet to £2.75 — a jump of 37%.33

Similarly, replacing homegrown raspberries with imported fruit would see the price of a 200g punnet jump 50% from £2 to £3.

Fruit and vegetables already account for our largest trade deficit in foodstuffs, with exports of £1.1billion and imports of £10.3billion,34 and a switch to imported fruit would push UK plc further into the red.

Laurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruit, explains: “Currently we are seeing annual sales of soft fruit of £1.2billion, with around half of this produced in the UK. Taking into account the margins added by importers and retailers, the value of the imported fruit that would be needed to fill this gap would be around £450million. So, if we had no UK production there would be an immediate loss of around £450 to £500 million to our balance of payments.”

In 2015, around 29,000 seasonal workers were employed in UK soft fruit production, all of them paying income tax and National Insurance, and spending some of their earnings in rural economies. The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report warns that losing access to these workers would lead to a fall in Income Tax, Corporation Tax and National Insurance contributions from both employers and employees.

However, if access to seasonal labour were ensured, and the industry continued to grow, there would be an increase in tax receipts and National Insurance contributions.

The British Growers Association points out: “The horticulture sector alone has identified that it needs 80,000 seasonal workers and this is expected to increase to 95,000 by 2020.”35

The soft fruit industry remains one of the most labour intensive horticultural sectors and, based on forecast production figures, The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report estimates that 31,095 seasonal workers — all of them paying tax and contributing to the UK economy — will be needed in this sector alone.

Moves to grow more strawberries substrate, on raised ‘table-top’ systems may eventually make it easier to automate some picking, but the report warns: “Extensive use on a commercial scale seems unlikely before 2020.” Furthermore, robotic picking is not an option for other soft fruits such as raspberries, blackberries and blueberries.

Page 9: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1 7P A G E 1 6

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

consumers want to buy british

We should consider not only the issue of people being able to afford to eat enough food to avoid hunger, but also being able to eat enough food which is healthy.Centre for Diet and Activity Research, Cambridge University 36

Consumers want to buy home-grown produce. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Food Statistics Pocketbook 2016, confirms that 53% of shoppers prefer to buy British, around half (49%) have greater trust in homegrown produce and a similar number (47%) say they are prepared to pay more for food and drink produced in the UK and Ireland.37

However, shopping patterns suggest the path to the supermarket checkout is paved with good intentions as many consumers cannot, or will not, pay higher prices for food.

According to the Food Statistics Pocketbook 2016, price is the single most important factor in food purchases,

with 36% of consumers ranking cost as their number one consideration, and nine out of ten (90%) putting it in their top five of factors influencing product choices. By comparison, quality, which was rated the second most important influencer was ranked the most important by only 18% of shoppers.38

DEFRA figures confirm food purchases are very price sensitive. Between 2007 and 2012, when fruit prices rose by 34%, low income households cut the amount of fruit they bought by 25%.39

Researchers from the Centre for Diet and Activity Research (CEDAR) at Cambridge University have shown it costs more to eat well, and the price gap between a healthy diet, containing plentiful fruit and vegetables, and a less healthy diet built around inexpensive carbohydrates, is getting wider.

Soft fruit is one of the few healthy foods to have bucked this trend, with retail prices for strawberries remaining around £2 per 400 grams for the past 20 years. With average inflation of 2.8% a year this is effectively a price cut of £1.39.40

By contrast, if growers cannot access the seasonal labour workforce needed to cultivate and harvest their crops The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report predicts strawberry prices will rise by £1.75 per 400g punnet, a price hike of 37%.

As a result of Brexit, food prices are already rising more rapidly than they have done in the past three years, with the British Retail Consortium figures showing a 1 per cent year-on-year increase, despite the deflationary impact of fierce competition between supermarkets. Senior analysts predict prices could rise by 8% over the next few years.42

The report’s author, John Pelham, adds: “The fact that so much soft fruit is currently grown in the UK protects consumers from price rises as a result of currency fluctuations. If we were dependent on imported fruit, the fall in the pound since the Election would have flowed through to much higher prices.”

Page 10: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 1 9P A G E 1 8

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

Since 2002, more healthy foods and beverages have been consistently more expensive than less healthy ones, with a growing gap between them. This trend is likely to make healthier diets less affordable over time, which may have implications for individual food security and population health, and it may exacerbate social inequalities in health.”43

There are clear health implications. The CEDAR researchers warn:

price rises will hit healthy eating

Berries are bursting with vitamins and health-enhancing polyphenols. Just 80g of strawberries provides 77% of the recommended daily allowance (RDA) of vitamin C, while the same serving of raspberries provides a third (32%) of the daily RDA.4445

Soft summer fruits also provide useful amounts of folate, which is essential for production of DNA and RNA and manganese which is associated with a reduced risk of some cancers. Folate also appears to reduce

levels of homocysteine, which increases the danger of cardiovascular disease.4647

A number of studies suggest berries help protect against the inflammation and oxidative damage which drives heart disease, cancer and other age-related disorders.48

A large study which tracked more than 120,000 women, which was published in the Annals of Neurology, found that a diet high in strawberries and blueberries delayed

memory decline by 30 months. Eating just two servings of berries a week was beneficial.49

A joint study from scientists at the University of East Anglia and Harvard University reported the anthocyanins, which are found in strawberries and blueberries, can also reduce high blood pressure — a major risk factor for heart disease and stroke. Just one serving a week appears to cut the odds of hypertension by 10%.50

These same anthocyanins seem to make it easier to maintain a healthy weight, according to a study in the British Medical Journal.51

The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report shows that our consumption of these healthy berries has surged over the past 20 years. In 1996 we got through 67,000 tonnes of strawberries a year, and by 2015 this had leapt to 168,000 tonnes — a rise of 150%

Over the same period, our consumption of raspberries has climbed, from 13,000 to 29,000 tonnes, a 123% increase; and other soft fruit, such as blueberries and blackberries has risen from 12,000 to 50,000 tonnes.52

But data from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey shows that our intakes of fruit and vegetables are still woefully low, with only 8% of children aged 11 to 18 and 27% of adults aged 19 to 64 achieving the recommended five serves a day.53

On average, children manage just 2.8 portions of fruit or vegetables a day.54

Improving the nation’s diet could have a huge impact on health. A Government Strategy Unit report estimated: “Around 70,000 fewer people would die prematurely each year in the UK if diets matched the nutritional guidelines on fruit and vegetable consumption, and saturated fat, added sugar and salt intake.”55

Page 11: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 2 0

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y P A G E 2 1H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

food security and the environment: food for thought on wider impacts

Maintaining global food security while responding to climate change is a critical collective challenge for the 21st century

Food Matters, Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century, The Strategy Unit report 56

Food matters. One of the factors MI5, the UK’s counter-intelligence and security agency uses to gauge our security is our ability to feed ourselves — reportedly working on the maxim that a society is “four meals away from anarchy”.57

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation, the definition of food security as: “When all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”58

And in 2015, a House of Commons Committee warned: “The UK currently enjoys a high level of food security, but this situation will not last unless the Government plans now.”59

At the time, the threats we faced were climate change and rising demand for food. Now Brexit, and its impact on the horticultural sector’s access to seasonal labour, has been added to these potentially dangerous economic and political challenges.

Britain currently imports around 40% of its food, and the proportion has been steadily rising.60 However, the soft fruit industry is one of the few sectors to have bucked this trend. Over the past 20 years, self-sufficiency in fruit and vegetables has fallen the most significantly, but over the same period, production of soft fruit has grown by an impressive 131%.61

If Brexit negotiations fail to secure access to the seasonal workers needed to cultivate and harvest these crops, this phenomenal increase in home-grown soft fruit production will collapse. Britain would become even more reliant on imports and this, in turn, would see an increase in food-miles associated with the fruit sold in British supermarkets and shops.

The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour report author, John Pelham, warns: “Restricted seasonal worker numbers would lead to a significant reduction in UK self-sufficiency in a highly perishable product, which both economically and environmentally, should be produced as close to the point of consumption as possible.

“An increase in the volume of soft fruit imports into the UK would have a detrimental effect on the balance of payments and the environment.”

Professor Tim Lang, from the Centre for Food Policy at City University of London says: “The situation created by the British vote to leave the European Union is momentous for UK food. It is on a par with the Repeal of the Corn Laws of 1846 when Britain decided its Empire could feed it, not its own farmers.”62

Brexit looks likely to mean de-stabilisation just when we need to focus on pressing issues like food’s impact on climate change and obesity.

He warns:

Page 12: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 2 3P A G E 2 2

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

seasonal agriculture permit scheme: a simple solution to a labour crisis

Various participants involved in Brexit say that there can be no cherry picking. People need to realise that there will be no strawberry, raspberry or any other type of berry picking unless action is quickly taken.”

Member of the Association of Labour Providers 63

Labour providers say they are already struggling to fill requests and report an increase in cancellations and no-shows of workers who had previously agreed to work in the UK. There has been a 30% drop in attendance presentations in Bulgaria and Romania. Requests from growers are up by 25% on this time last year — which suggests growers are also finding it harder to recruit directly.

But MPs have highlighted a potentially devastating disconnect between industry and Government perceptions of the problem.

The Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee warned: “We are concerned that the industry has such different experiences to those reported by the Government. It is apparent that the statistics used by the Government are unable to provide a proper indication of agriculture’s labour needs.”64

However, as evidence to the EFRA Committee and comments from Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons confirm, there is agreement on a solution — the reintroduction of a Seasonal Agricultural Workers Scheme (SAWS).

The position of her successor, Michael Gove, is less clear. In a joint statement with fellow Leave campaigner, Boris Johnson, he promised: “The automatic right of all EU citizens to come to live and work in the UK will end.” And he added: “Those seeking entry for work or study should be admitted on the basis of their skills without discrimination on the ground of nationality. To gain the right to work, economic migrants will have to be suitable for the job in question.”65

Although he is also on record as saying: “One of the things that I envisage is, after we leave the European Union, EU citizens will be able to move freely into the UK. It is just

Page 13: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 2 5P A G E 2 4

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

they won’t have the same rights to work.”66

A Seasonal Agriculture Permit Scheme would address concerns about immigration while ensuring access to an essential seasonal workforce, and is such an obvious answer to the challenges facing British producers it has even been discussed in The Archers, Radio 4’s long-running drama of rural life.67

SAWS operated from 1948 to the end of 2013 and was designed to allow young people from across Europe to take up seasonal work as agricultural labourers. Before they could enter the UK, they had to have a confirmed job, and were issued with a permit which allowed them to work for a specific employer for up to six months. SAWS workers were tied to the farms on which they worked and could only travel between farms with the permission of the operator who had issued their permit.

In its final year, there were 20,521 SAWS work cards issued across 514 farms, and SAWS workers were all counted in, and counted out.

As the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC), an independent public body which advises the Government on migration issues, reported, SAWS was “extremely well managed by the UK Border Agency” and growers, supermarkets and consumers all benefited from the scheme.68

In 2013, MAC reported: “There are no groups in the UK who are obviously disadvantaged by the scheme. The resident labour force is not displaced as UK workers are generally unwilling or unable to take up seasonal farm work.”

Before we joined the EU we had a very good programme of seasonal workers' licences and it is not beyond the wit of man to have such a thing in future.Andrea Leadsom, Leader of the House of Commons

Page 14: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 2 7P A G E 2 6

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

last wordLaurence Olins, Chairman of British Summer Fruits says: “The Home Office is on record as saying a new Seasonal Agriculture Permit Scheme could be introduced very quickly, within five or six months. But as the EFRA Committee pointed out that this would only happen, once the need for such a scheme had been identified. As an industry we believe the need for a Seasonal Worker Permit Scheme has been identified, so we need The Home Office to understand that we must have a scheme in place by the very latest September 2018 in order for us to recruit for the 2019 season.69

Without it, an incredibly successful soft fruit industry, which contributes millions of pounds to the UK economy, will be crushed."

Laurence OlinsChairman of British Summer Fruits

Failure to secure the future of soft fruit production in the UK will have a negative impact on the economy, family budgets, the nation’s health, UK food security and the environment.

As an industry, we need assurances that Seasonal Agriculture Permit Scheme will be reintroduced as a matter of urgency, that there will be enough permits issued to meet the rising demand for labour.

Page 15: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 2 9P A G E 2 8

J u n e 2 0 1 7 J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y

References1. Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report, Feeding the nation: labour constraints Q11http://data.parliament.uk/writtenevidence/committeeevidence.svc/evidencedocument/environment-food-and-rural-affairs-committee/feeding-the-nation-labour-contraints/oral/47050.html

2. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints Q99

3. http://www.producebusinessuk.com/supply/stories/2015/10/27/how-buyers-in-the-uk-can-capitalise-on-the-british-berry-boom 4. The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, Andersons Midlands LLP.

5. Kantar data, on file

6. The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, Andersons Midlands LLP. 7. https://www.freshfruitportal.com/news/2014/06/16/flavor-and-shelf-life-vital-to-future-berry-growth-in-u-k/ 8. Figure from Laurence, might be in Kantar data

9. Figure from Laurence, might be in Kantar data

10. http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Environment,%20Food%20and%20Rural%20Affairs/Feeding%20the%20nation%20labour%20contraints/written/49765.html 11. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/20/reality-check-are-eu-migrants-really-taking-british-jobs

12. https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/may/20/reality-check-are-eu-migrants-really-taking-british-jobs

13. Association of Labour Providers; Labour Immigration Police Pre and Post EU Exit Briefing and Position Paper, November 2016 http://labourproviders.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/Labour-Immigration-Policy-Pre-And-Post-EU-Exit-ALP-Position-Paper-No....pdf

14. Association of Labour Providers; Labour Immigration Police Pre and Post EU Exit Briefing and Position Paper, November 2016

15. Association of Labour Providers; Labour Immigration Police Pre and Post EU Exit Briefing and Position Paper, November 2016

16. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints, paragraph 5https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/1009/100904.htm

17. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q18

18. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q18

19. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q18

20. Association of Labour Providers; Labour Immigration Police Pre and Post EU Exit Briefing and Position Paper, November 2016 21. http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Environment,%20Food%20and%20Rural%20Affairs/Feeding%20the%20nation%20labour%20contraints/written/46756.html

22. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/may/21/brexit-coming-food-crisis-seasonal-migrant-labour-eu 23. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q32

24. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q31 & Q66 25. Migration Statistics Quarterly Report: May 2017; Office for National Statistics https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/populationandmigration/internationalmigration/bulletins/migrationstatisticsquarterlyreport/may2017 26. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q56 27. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017 Q6

28. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints, paragraph 8 29. https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/1009/1009.pdf paragraph 11 30. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints, paragraph 11 https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201617/cmselect/cmenvfru/1009/100904.htm

31. http://data.parliament.uk/WrittenEvidence/CommitteeEvidence.svc/EvidenceDocument/Environment,%20Food%20and%20Rural%20Affairs/Feeding%20the%20nation%20labour%20contraints/written/47213.html

32. Oral evidence to EFRA Committee, February 8, 2017

33. The Andersons’ Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, Andersons Midlands LLP. 34. Food Statistics Pocket Book 2016, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs page 25 https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/608426/foodpocketbook-2016report-rev-12apr17.pdf

35. Post Brext Growers Survey 2016, British Growers Association 36.http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109343 37. Food Statistics Pocket Book 2016, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairspage 57 38.Food Statistics Pocket Book 2016, Department for Environment Food & Rural Affairs page 20

39. http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/news/article-2210029/Recession-bites-Shoppers-cut-fruit-veg-downturn--poorest-make-food.html

40. http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/education/Pages/resources/inflationtools/calculator/default.aspx£2 in 1996 would be worth £3.39 in 2015 41. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/brexit-food-prices-fast-rate-three-years-march-2017-supermarket-retailers-commodity-hikes-a7666291.html

42. https://www.theguardian.com/business/2017/mar/29/brexit-fruit-vegetable-prices-uk-eu

43. http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0109343

44. http://www.britishsummerfruits.co.uk/html/strawberries.htm

45. http://www.britishsummerfruits.co.uk/html/raspberries.htm

46. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/287677.php

47. https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Folate-HealthProfessional/

48. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-08/acs-ebm080610.php

49. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-04/bawh-bky042512.php

50. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-01/uoea-bci011411.php 51. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-01/b-fff012516.php

52. The Andersons Brexit & Seasonal Labour Report, Andersons Midlands LLP.

53. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551352/NDNS_Y5_6_UK_Main_Text.pdf2 Headline findings

54. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551352/NDNS_Y5_6_UK_Main_Text.pdf4.1

55. Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. The Strategy Unit July 2008 Executive summary page viii

56. http://www.ifr.ac.uk/waste/Reports/food%20matters,%20Towards%20a%20Strategy%20for%20the%2021st%20Century.pdf Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. The Strategy Unit July 2008 Executive summary page iv http://www.ifr.ac.uk/waste/Reports/food%20matters,%20Towards%20a%20Strategy%20for%20the%2021st%20Century.pdf 57. https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/britain-four-meals-away-from-anarchy-fc9kfgc0w92

58. EFRA Committee report: Food Security, Second Report of Session 2014-15 page 6 https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/sites/default/files/food-security.pdf 59. EFRA Committee report: Food Security, Second Report of Session 2014-15 https://www.rothamsted.ac.uk/sites/default/files/food-security.pdf

60. Food Matters: Towards a Strategy for the 21st Century. The Strategy Unit July 2008 Executive summary page X http://www.ifr.ac.uk/waste/Reports/food%20matters,%20Towards%20a%20Strategy%20for%20the%2021st%20Century.pdf

61. The Andersons’ Brexit &Seasonal Workers, Andersons Midlands LLP. DEFRA

62. http://www.city.ac.uk/news/2016/july/how-brexit-threatens-britains-food-security 63. EFRA Labour Constraints Inquiry - ALP additional evidence submission - April 7 2017

64. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints Conclusion and recommendations

65. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/31/eu-referendum-boris-and-gove-pledge-tough-new-immigration-system/ 66. https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3223081/michael-gove-says-eu-citizens-will-still-be-able-come-to-britain-freely-after-brexit-but-they-wont-have-the-same-access-to-work-the-nhs-or-welfare/

67. http://www.lowfield.co.uk/archers/thisweek.phtml

68. Migration Advisory Committee report: Migrant Seasonal Workers report https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/257242/migrant-seasonal-workers.pdf

69. EFRA Committee report; Feeding the nation: labour constraints Conclusion and recommendations

Page 16: HOW BREXIT COULD CRUSH OUR SOFT FRUIT INDUSTRY · 2018-03-07 · incredibly competitive British horticulture industry. But if we cannot ensure access to the seasonal workers needed

P A G E 3 0

J u n e 2 0 1 7

H o w B r e x i t C o u l d C r u s h O u r S o f t F r u i t I n d u s t r y