Action call on Scottish berry crisis
Thirty SNP politicians representing rural areas are demanding action from the UK Government to tackle Brexit-fuelled labour shortages that have left Scotland’s soft fruit farms in crisis
The politicians have written to Home Secretary Sajid Javid and Environment Secretary Michael Gove with a series of questions and criticising the UK Government’s “desperately inadequate” response.
EU withdrawal has been blamed for the battle faced by farmers to recruit foreign workers to pick berries. Many farmers employ pickers from Eastern Europe, most of whom will no longer be able to come to Scotland when the free movement of people comes to an end.
The labour shortage has had a devastating impact on some farms, with tonnes of fruit, worth many hundreds of thousands of pounds to businesses, being left to rot.
Farmers are demanding a new seasonal workers’ scheme to be introduced to save their businesses
The SNP letter asks UK ministers what action has been taken to resolve this year’s crisis and asks for emergency measures to be introduced by the autumn.
Gail Ross, MSP for Caithness, Sutherland & Ross, said: “The Tory Government was warned time and again the Brexit vote was going to cause seasonal labour shortages and push food prices up as a result.
“Scotland’s growers need more seasonal workers - now.”