Thailand’s deepening labour shortage roils harvest as unpicked fruits rot

Thailand is facing a deepening labour shortage that is severely impacting its agricultural harvest, leaving ripe fruits such as mangosteen and rambutan unpicked on trees in the eastern part of the country.

The shortage of migrant workers is forcing growers to make difficult decisions about which crops are valuable enough to harvest and which must be left to rot. Growers like Jomsak Putirattana in Chanthaburi province are being directly affected as they struggle to manage high-value crops like durian amidst the depleted workforce.