Greece Sign Agreement With Egypt to Alleviate Agriculture Labour Shortage

A preliminary decree has been signed which will allow 5,000 Egyptians to arrive and work in Greece in the next few months. The terms of the agreement are still being settled but accommodation, remuneration and return dates seem to be fixed. The only problem that remains to be settled is VISA authorisation since the Greek Ministry of Migration and Policy lacks the resources to manage the VISA procedure for such a high population movement, and fast track the procedure for all incoming workers to be able to move back home in emergencies.

Greece is experiencing a labour shortage in the agricultural sector and the agreement with Egypt could help alleviate that shortage, especially in the short term. The lack of labour has pushed the Greek strawberry sector to decrease the planted hectarage, where at least 6,000 workers are missing which prevents the sector from performing well for 9 months that the cultivation is on. Another 4,000 workers are being missed for the olive harvest.