{"id":692,"date":"2021-05-26T13:33:15","date_gmt":"2021-05-26T12:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/foodsystemimpactscv19\/?p=692"},"modified":"2021-05-26T13:33:15","modified_gmt":"2021-05-26T12:33:15","slug":"a-bit-late-but-some-more-thoughts-on-the-labour-question","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.exeter.ac.uk\/foodsystemsimpactscv19\/2021\/05\/26\/a-bit-late-but-some-more-thoughts-on-the-labour-question\/","title":{"rendered":"A bit late, but some more thoughts on the labour question"},"content":{"rendered":"

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By Prof. Michael Winter<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even in the best organised research project \u2013 and I am not claiming that epithet for our project! \u2013 it is\u00a0 possible to miss some really valuable research. So back in June 2020 a report snuck past me and only came to light as a reference in a recently published journal article (Tougeron and Hance 2021). Commissioned by a consortium comprising the National Farmers Union, the British Growers Association, British Summer Fruits and British Apples and Pears, John Pelham of the consultants Andersons produced a report entitled ‘The Potential Implications of Covid-19 for the Costs of Production of UK Fruit & Vegetables in 2020<\/a>\u2019.<\/p>\n

The report is based on a postal survey and follow-up interviews with 27 fruit and vegetable growers, with a combined turnover of over \u00a3600 million. \u00a0What is so useful about the research is that it really delves into reasons why labour was and continues to be such an issue for this sector, albeit looked at entirely through the costs lens. One sentence in particular caught my eye in this regard:<\/p>\n

\u2026 the cost of labour for wheat production \u2013 the most widely grown crop in the UK \u2013 is typically in the range \u00a380-150 per hectare; the range for field strawberry production, for example, is typically <\/em>\u00a340,000-70,000 per hectare.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>What a difference and to think that we bracket these two radically contrasting production systems together as part of the same industry!<\/p>\n

The report details the various ways in which labour cost were affected by the first wave of the pandemic as follows (taken from pages 9-10 of the report):<\/p>\n

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Worker Availability and Recruitment <\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Whilst some growers have been able to recruit their seasonal workforces without extra cost, many reported incurring additional expenditure to acquire adequate staff, either from the EU or UK. Additional costs have included: <\/em><\/p>\n