Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

UK promises 45,000 seasonal agricultural worker visas

After a drop during the pandemic, net migration has been steadily on the rise and is expected to hit a record high this year

UK promises 45,000 seasonal agricultural worker visas

The UK government on Tuesday (16) promised to award 45,000 visas for seasonal workers in the agricultural sector next year despite calls from within the ruling Conservative party to cut immigration.

After a drop during the pandemic, net migration has been steadily on the rise and is expected to hit a record high this year, British media have reported. Official figures are expected this month.

Hardline home secretary Suella Braverman said at a conference in London on Monday (15) that there was "no good reason" Britain cannot train its own lorry drivers and fruit pickers to drive down immigration.

But Downing Street defended the decision to grant the visas again.

The current rules "provide us the flexibility to flex the system depending on UK need," a spokesman said Tuesday, adding that Britain has a "historically low" unemployment rate.

The announcement of the visas allocation comes alongside a new package of measures to support the farming industry.

British farmers have grappled with soaring costs with the pandemic's disruption of supply chains and the war in Ukraine driving up the price of fertiliser, feed, fuel and energy.

Tougher immigration rules following Brexit, which ended free movement within EU member states, have made it harder to hire workers from the bloc, which British agriculture has traditionally relied upon.

The industry is also facing competition from imported products.

Ahead of a UK Farm to Fork Summit hosted by Downing Street on Tuesday, the government said it will give farmers greater protections in future trade deals and prioritise new export opportunities.

"British farming and British produce simply cannot be an afterthought. I know that is how some of you felt in the past," Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said in an open letter to British farmers.

The government last February announced that more than £168 million in grants will be available to farmers this year to "drive the development of new technology and innovative ways of farming".

(AFP)

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less