MPs said pigs were culled and fruit rotting on trees due to lack of staff

HEOs are being culled and fruit rotting on trees as a shortage of visas for foreign workers threatens a food and agriculture crisis, MPs said.

They warn that the lack of fruit pickers, abattoirs and truck drivers needs urgent attention from the Home Office.

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Neil Parish, chair of the Committee on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said: “Labor shortages in the food and agricultural sectors have created a welfare crisis for people and animals. object.

“But the Interior Ministry simply did not listen.

“It is not providing enough visas to foreign workers in a timely and efficient manner.

“Employers need workers but cannot keep up.

“Pigs are being culled and wasted because there aren’t enough butchers in the slaughterhouses. Fruit rots on trees and crops aren’t grown.

“We need the Home Office to respond to what farmers and businesses are saying and stop blaming the region for the fault.

“We need an effective food and agricultural labor strategy across Governments to tackle immigration and other issues – and we need it fast.”

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