FARMER Guy Smith fears a shortage of seasonal workers may result in rotten crops and lost profits for farmers following Brexit.

Industry insiders say workers from eastern Europe are said to be choosing to work elsewhere on the continent, as the implications of Brexit, the weak pound and high travel costs to the UK take their toll.

Farmers are now calling on the Government to allow non-EU workers into the UK.

Mr Smith, who is deputy president of the National Farmers’ Union, owns about 1,000 acres of land near St Osyth.

He said: “The last thing we want to see is good fresh food rotting in fields because of a shortage of labour.

“There are parts of our industry that are dependent on migrant labour, mainly from eastern Europe.

“We are getting reports some farms, such as strawberry growers and asparagus growers, are short of labour.

“We want the Government to reassure farmers that people can come next year or maybe investigate workers from beyond the EU coming to the UK.

“Farming is a long-term business and we can’t just look at one year at a time.

“This won’t just affect horticulture with hand-picking, but goes beyond that with abattoirs using migrant labour and even vets employing people from abroad.”

Stephanie Maurel, chief executive of Concordia, which supplies around 10,000 foreign workers to 200 farms in the UK each year, said the company could be 10 per cent short this year, adding that nationally the picture will be “a lot, lot worse”.

She said: “It’s compounding the misery for growers really who are planting, and literally they are looking out of their windows not knowing if they’re going to have enough workers to harvest and gather in the crops and the fruit.

She said up to five offers are being put to each seasonal worker and large numbers are not accepting the offers.

A Government spokesman said Defra and the Home Office are working closely to ensure the labour needs of the agriculture sector are met.