The report published in the Financial Times newspaper warned flower and ornamental plant growers in the UK that after Brexit, millions of flowers will not be harvested this year because the industry was not included in the plan to accept overseas agricultural workers.
Alex Newey, owner of Varfell Farms in Cornwall, the largest narcissus grower in the UK, told the newspaper; they have decided that parts of this year’s crop will be left to rot due to lack of workers; The vast majority of flower pickers have so far been composed of overseas workers, mostly from Eastern Europe for years, but post-Brexit this opportunity has disappeared and it is now possible for only resident or formerly established EU citizens to work on British farms; On the other hand, it was stated that the number of these people was insufficient at the moment.
After Brexit, free movement of EU citizens ended and points-based immigration program started. However, the government has announced that it will implement a seasonal worker pilot program for fruit and vegetable growers in 2021 to allow 30,000 workers to travel temporarily to UK farms. The program is mainly for seasonal food and does not cover ornamental plant growers. It is stated in the news that the Ministry of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs stated that this year’s expanded seasonal worker pilot program was brought to ensure food safety and support the edible horticulture sector, but also followed the program to meet the needs of other sectors, including ornamental plants.
Finally, referring to the research of the consultancy company Oxford Economics; It is stated that households in the UK spent GBP 1.9 billion for cut flowers and GBP 7.5 billion for garden products in 2017.
Source: https://www.ft.com/content/e87bf45c-e1a6-4d8e-98f5-f0411820f48e?shareType=nongift