London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 16, 2025

UK farmers turn to Nepal and Tajikistan for fruit pickers

UK farmers turn to Nepal and Tajikistan for fruit pickers

Bal Kumar Khatri has worked harvesting rice and beans in his native Nepal before, and been a trekking guide in the Himalayas.

But this year, instead, the 26-year-old is in a polytunnel in north Nottinghamshire picking strawberries.

Every spring thousands of seasonal workers come to harvest the UK's soft fruits, but this year they're coming from much further afield.

Before Brexit many came from Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

Now as well as Nepalese, UK growers are employing Indonesian, Mongol, Tajik, Kazakhs and Kyrgyz workers.

Mr Khatri hasn't been here long, but he speaks some English and the farm's owners are relieved he's made it here.

Getting enough workers for the summer season is always a challenge, but this year, with the soft fruit season just about to hit its peak, many growers say they're more worried than they've ever been that there won't be enough pickers.

Jenny Tasker from Harwill Farm near Retford which supplies Waitrose, Tesco and Marks and Spencer, has always had a mix of nationalities. But this year their workers come from nine different countries, including 35 from Nepal for the first time, 45 Tajikistan, and even three from Indonesia.

Jenny Tasker from Harwill Farm is using workers from a wide range of countries


The new recruits are fitting in well, says Ms Tasker, but there are challenges.

"We're having to do lots of training, so it's slow," she says. "It's about having patience on both sides," she says. But she, like others, is worried that she won't get all her berries harvested before they spoil.

UK production of soft fruit has been rising steadily, according to the industry body British Berry Growers (BBG) but wastage has been increasing too. It's hard to predict when berries will be ready to pick, and when they are, they can't wait.

The value of production lost due to labour shortages has approximately doubled in each of the last two years, based on a survey of BBG members. Last year, an estimated £36m worth of soft fruit was wasted, against total production of £760m, the BBG says.


'Very nervous'


At Harwill, workers like Mr Khatri and his brothers are provided with accommodation and free wifi has been installed for all the caravans. British farms are going to ever greater lengths to persuade workers to return year after year, partly because since Brexit the number of returnees from EU countries has dwindled.

Last year, Ukrainians filled the gaps, but this year Ukrainian men between 18 and 60 years old have been told to stay at home and fight.

Workers of different nationalities share caravan accommodation on site at most UK fruit farms


The combination of war, Brexit and Covid led a parliamentary committee to warn in April that acute labour shortages across the UK food sector could threaten food security if action wasn't taken.

And since then the process of issuing visas to seasonal workers seems to have stalled, says BSF chairman Nick Marston. He welcomes the "league of nations" approach but says he's worried workers from so far away will end up arriving too late.

"It's making farmers very nervous," he says. "I don't think it has hit crisis point yet, but I am very concerned it may do."

Justin Emery says there are plenty of workers willing to come. He is director of the labour company Fruitful Jobs, one of four firms licensed to recruit seasonal workers overseas.

Fruitful Jobs is recruiting in 37 countries from South Africa to Kurdistan, Canada to Mongolia. But recruits have to find £244 for a visa plus their return air fare. That, plus the bureaucracy and language barriers, means it's not a quick process to recruit from new, far-flung places.

Tim Chambers (l) and his father John own one of the largest berry growers in the UK


At this end, the arrival of Ukrainian refugees has diverted resources and held up visa processing, Mr Emery says. But, he adds: "They've caught up quite well, and people are coming in now."

But that's not enough to reassure everyone that the new system will work.

Tim Chambers, who owns a network of 24 farms in south east England, has told the recruitment firms he doesn't want workers from countries like Indonesia, Vietnam or the Philippines.
"It's not because I in any

way have an issue with race, creed, or colour," he says. "[But] if you suddenly bring in a whole new country, culture, way of life, into your farm, it can cause major problems.

"In terms of efficiency, a new recruit in the first season is 25% less productive," he says.

"There will be cultural and lifestyle things too," he says.

Mr Chambers says he has a large number of experienced workers from central and eastern Europe still returning to work on his farms - he's already making sure not to put Russians and Ukrainians in shared accommodation to avoid friction.

But competition for labour is getting so "hot", he can see he may have to accept workers from new sources, if he wants to avoid what happened last year, when a shortage of labour meant he walked away from around 12% of his raspberry crop.

He blames the government for not issuing enough visas. This year there is a limit on numbers, of 30,000, with the potential to go up by 10,000 if necessary. The number of visas will begin to taper from 2023, with an increased focus on British workers and automation supposed to compensate.

"They don't understand the responsibility they've given themselves and the carnage they can cause by their actions," he says.

The other "bombshell" says Alastair Brooks, at Langdon Manor Farm in Kent, was the government's stipulation seasonal workers from overseas must be paid £10.10 an hour, well above the £9.50 minimum wage.

He can't pay his existing workers less than the new arrivals, so wages have gone up across the board.

"I don't begrudge them that, they work really hard. The problem is we'd fixed prices with our customers," he says.

The Home Office said the government was ready to back the UK's farmers and growers and "ensure that they have the support and workforce that they need".

"The Seasonal Workers scheme is now operating until the end of 2024," a spokesperson said, adding the government was working towards attracting UK workers into the sector.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
×