With travel bans and strict quarantine protocols for tourists coming overseas due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the British government will soon run out of migrant workers who take on the job as fruit and vegetable pickers.
The reality has also put the spotlight on a controversial immigration bill pushed by the government. Also, it reflects the looming food shortage crisis worldwide as long as coronavirus continues to be present.
In UK, agricultural sectors are traditionally dependent on seasonal migrant workers from Europe. With the strict lockdown measures at present, the country could see as many as 70,000 vacant positions for fruit pickers and vegetables.
Nick Allen, the chief executive of the British Meat Processors Association, said there are about 70% plant workers who are not UK citizens.
On Tuesday, Prince Charles called on students and laid-off workers to work temporarily as fruit and vegetable pickers to fill in the labor shortage. He encouraged these people to join the "Pick For Britain" campaign at this time when there is "great uncertainty." He said many of the people's normal routines and regular patterns of life are being challenged.
Prince Charles likened the current situation to the Land Army of World War II. At the time, women and girls volunteered or listed as agricultural workers as the men were called to war.
Britain has easily run out of food because suppliers have failed to consider factors, including a shortage of migrant workers, in their analysis of the impact of the "new normal" amid the pandemic. With how the "new normal" is coming to light now, industry leaders in the country are calling for officials to not drastically implement new rules that may aggravate the situation, especially with the food industry. Business owners are requesting the government to not make rules that will make it harder for seasonal migrant workers to enter the UK.
Problems on food supplies and labor shortages are not isolated in the UK. The problem is also felt by many countries around the world. In some nations, there was a problem with increased food prices.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, there are already trends showing that there would be spike in global food prices. At the time the biggest factor was unpredictable weather conditions brought by climate change.
For instance, African swine fever wiped out one-quarter of the world's pig population in 2019, prior to COVID-19. The incident has pushed meat prices to increase by 15% to 22% early into 2020, according to the World Economic Forum. At the same time, the locust epidemic in East Africa pushed the prices of staple food in Kenya to more than 60%.
