Spanish Strawberry Farms Face Labor Shortage as Morocco Closes Borders Amid COVID-19

The Interprofessional Association of Andalusian Strawberries has called for government intervention to exclude seasonal workers from the border closure decision imposed by the Moroccan government, following the outbreak of the Coronavirus epidemic.

While deploring the enormous losses caused by the border closures, at a time when demand is at its peak, the owners of the agricultural farms have announced that only 35% of the seasonal workers have arrived in the fields.

The Moroccan embargo has prevented nearly 6,000 Moroccan workers, representing 15% of the workforce, from joining the agricultural fields, during a sensitive period of the harvest, namely March-May.