The latest cost of quitting Brussels? British farmers learn of sprouts crisis because of a shortage of seasonal workers from Europe

 

• Lower value of sterling since Leave vote is putting pickers off coming to the UK
• The crisis could hit other vegetables, including carrots, parsnips and potatoes
• National Farmers Union estimates 12 per cent of seasonal jobs are unfilled

 The fallout from Brexit has been undeniably far-reaching – but few thought its effects might reach as far as this year’s Christmas dinner table.However British farmers are now warning that a shortage of seasonal workers from Europe means there may be fewer Brussels sprouts to pass round this yuletide.The lower value of sterling since the Leave vote is putting pickers off coming here, leaving farms struggling to fill thousands of harvesting jobs.

![Growers are very worried about where the labour is going to come from,’ said Ali Capper, the National Farmers Union’s horticulture board chairman. The worst-case scenario, she said, would be that farmers are unable to meet their orders, leading to shortages on supermarket shelves. ()