Northern Greece: Growers in desperate need of foreign hands

Farmers in northern Greece are desperately seeking help abroad to get their fruit and other crops picked. It seems that local youth are not inclined to do the farm work and the once-reliable Albanian farmhands now prefer to go for jobs in northern EU countries.

Farm unionists in the regional units of Imathia and Pella, where peach production dominates, claim the units need 30,000 seasonal workers to pick the peaches, plus apples, cherries and kiwi fruit grown, and a big portion canned, in the area.

Apparently, issuing visas to foreign workers, mostly from South Asia, could result in a lost season. They are also looking to countries such as and even Ecuador and Peru, to import workers

Source: ekathimerini.com