“Five thousand workers were expected on farms in April and 4,500 in May, and with no prior warning to industry operators, the government decided to close the visa programmes for the Rumanian and Bulgarian embassies” she said. “The timing was so bad that it shows a total lack of understanding about seasonal labour in the fresh produce sector.”

Managing director of Tuddenham Hall John Clement, who grows strawberries for KG, relies heavily on seasonal pickers on his farms for 10-12 weeks of the peak season. He said: “Without seasonal labour, we are in trouble. This year’s shortage was due to the government’s panic reaction to the changes to the EU15. The system will change dramatically as the rules are different now for many workers who no longer need SAWS. Next year will be the real test; many of the workers can stay on in the UK after the 12 weeks, or leave if they find something better, as there are loose contractual obligations. Our labour planning needs must improve now with EU nationals having more work options.”

Concordia sources and secures students three months ahead to meet farmers’ seasonal labour requirements, and has maintained links with countries with a large proportion of students.

Lumb said. “We will run two schemes; a SAWS programme for non-EU students, and NEWS (new European workers scheme) for EU students. Prior to May 1, this situation was difficult to handle; farmers only wanted SAWS workers and turned away Polish, Lithuanian and Latvian students, who could now come to the UK on their own visas. This and the government blocks meant supply was further reduced. We had to resource workers in mid-April, which created great uncertainty along the chain.”

Concordia has already begun planning its SAWS and NEWS visa allocations by asking farmers for their labour preferences. “Government could run the Workers Registration Scheme in a simpler format, and for 2005 the work card allocation has been reduced by 35 per cent,” said Lumb. “We want to ensure we apply for the right amount of work cards.”