Berry pickers from Thailand will be allowed to go to Sweden to pick wild blueberries and other berries this summer, according to news reports in Sweden.
The Thai government had at first blocked for the annual stream of seasonal workers to go to Sweden but have now allowed for 2600 berry pickers to go, says Sylve Bjorkman, Managing Director of Ransaeter Invest, to Dagens Nyheter. This is about half the number of workers needed.
The Thai authorities have tightened conditions for the berry pickers to go which has added to the cost and made some companies skip hiring the Thais this season.
Sylve bjorkman and a few other companies have accepted the conditions because they believe the consumers will be ready to absorb the extra costs on the finished products. The season 2019 was poor and the stocks are practically empty.
Among the conditions is that the Thais will have to be accommodated with more space between them than normally. The first pickers are expected to fly to Sweden the last week of July according to the article in Dagens Nyheter.
