Fruit and vegetable prices could rise because of a shortage of cheap foreign workers, government agency warns Rules to end allowing Romanians and Bulgarians to work in UK Migration Advisory Committee says farmers face staff shortages The cost of fruit and vegetables will soar unless Britain opens its borders to more foreign workers, it was warned today. Prices for strawberries and celery in particular could rise, because of a shortage of cheap labour. The Migration Advisory Committee said supermarkets will be forced to push up prices or import more food, piling pressure on British farmers. A shortage of migrant workers when employment rules change could push up the price of fruit and vegetables, the Migration Advisory Committee said Almost 22,000 Romanians and Bulgarians are employed under the seasonal agricultural workers scheme but it is due to close when access restrictions are lifted at the end of 2013. British growers fear a shortage of workers could lead to a surge in labour costs and ultimately higher prices for consumers. Professor David Metcalf, MAC chair, said the Government should consider proposals for a new scheme that targets non-EU workers. In particular countries which have a high number of agricultural students such as the Ukraine could be targeted. Mr Metcalf told a press conference that if the labour supply "dwindled" once the scheme closed to Romanians and Bulgarians, operators may have to "drive wages up" to secure staff. He said:;In those circumstances, therefore, it's possible that supermarkets would charge higher prices for their celery and strawberries and so on. The price of strawberries in particular could rise, the chairman of the MAC Professor David Metcalf said Mr Metcalf said supermarkets may also start to import produce from overseas to keep consumer prices competitive. If the growers need to pay much higher wages, the prices to the supermarket would go up then, it's possible then imports would go up. Mr Metcalf said the consequences of a shrinking labour supply include seeing the whole horticulture sector in Britain contract and lead to an increase in technology being used instead of manual labour. Mr Metcalf said considering an alternative source of employment - such as countries outside the EU - was "a matter for the Government." He added: "It's very important to emphasise that, if we did have a replacement source, the implication is that horticulture is a favoured sector. It gets a supply of cheap labour, reliable labour and, more importantly, hired labour which is not available to any other sector. He added: "The only way that we should have a replacement scheme is if such a scheme would help horticulture thrive in the long run and the evidence from stake holders is that it would do." Last month farming minister David Heath warned families they will have to grow more of their own fruit and vegetables to cope with food shortages. He recast the famous World War Two slogan urging Brits to "dig for victory" with a stark warning of the need to "dig for survival" in the future. Farming minister David Heath has warned families to consider growing more of their own fruit and vegetables if Britain is hit by a food shortage crisis Fruit prices are more than 10 per cent higher than last year with vegetable costs up 6.7 per cent. Mr Heath said: "With an increasing population, increasing demand not just in this country but across the world, we are going to have to increase food production. We made a huge mistake a few years ago when the idea got around that we didn't need to produce in the agricultural sector any more, that we would be able to buy our way through whatever was necessary to feed the country. "Once we used to "dig for victory." There may come a time soon when we need to "dig for survival."" The MAC said a lack of seasonal workers was a medium to long term risk with British farmers likely to be able to recruit a sufficient number in the first one to two years after the working restrictions on Bulgarian and Romanians are lifted. A Home Office spokeswoman said: "We are grateful for the MAC's report and note its conclusion that that there is little evidence the supply of seasonal labour will decline in the next one or two years. We shall consider the MAC's advice very carefully, however in general we want to encourage employers to recruit from the resident labour market where possible.