South Africa is beginning to feel the economic impact of a large-scale departure of migrant workers, with farms, factories and households struggling to find labour after thousands of foreign nationals left the country following xenophobic attacks and intensified immigration enforcement.
In one of South Africa’s major citrus-producing regions, Zimbabwean farmworker Aaron Majatamhe described how fruit remained unharvested as workers disappeared from the fields.
“I see a lot of farm owners who are crying now… people have to harvest those naartjies but there is no one,” the 33-year-old told AFP.
He added that vineyards are also facing severe shortages.
“It’s time to cut off the grapes and there is no one.”
Similar labour shortages are emerging across the country as businesses scramble to replace workers who left within weeks.
The exodus followed calls by fringe anti-foreigner groups for undocumented migrants to leave South Africa by June 30. According to an AFP compilation based on figures from African governments repatriating their citizens, more than 160,000 migrants have returned home.
Zimbabwe, which received the largest number of returnees, said many had been employed in South Africa’s agriculture, construction and domestic work sectors.
The first major disruptions were reported in KwaZulu-Natal’s sugar industry, where one farmer said he lost nearly 80 per cent of his cane-cutting workforce almost overnight.
“Production and supply have deteriorated to the point where it is going to be difficult for the mills to stay open,” the farmer said anonymously, citing fear of retaliation.
Another farmer near Mid-Illovo said most cane cutters in the area were from Lesotho.
“There are fields we are supposed to be cutting, but there are just not enough people. Local people don’t like this job because it is back‑breaking and physical,” he said.
That claim is strongly contested by labour unions and researchers, who argue that South Africa’s unemployment rate—officially above 33 per cent—shows there is no shortage of local workers.
They contend that some employers prefer migrant labour because foreign workers are often cheaper, more flexible and less likely to insist on formal contracts, benefits or legal protections.
“They are making a profit out of foreign nations,” said Patrick Williams of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union.
According to him, many foreign farmworkers work seven days a week, skip lunch breaks to increase their earnings and are frequently paid below the national minimum wage.
Beyond farms, manufacturers are also feeling the effects. A manager at a clothing factory in Durban’s Chatsworth industrial area said the departure of experienced machinists from Malawi and Mozambique had made it difficult to meet production targets.
“We can barely meet our targets because most were forced to go,” she said, adding that local workers would need time to acquire the same skills.
The South African government has promoted a “locals first” employment policy while acknowledging that some industries rely heavily on foreign labour.
Last week, authorities expanded the Trusted Employer Scheme, which fast-tracks work visas for companies that meet conditions such as employing mainly South Africans, investing in skills development and operating in priority sectors.
Industry groups are now urging the government to create legal pathways for seasonal foreign labour, warning that sectors such as agriculture cannot replace migrant workers overnight.
Siyabonga Madlala, chief executive of the South African Farmers Development Association, suggested a regulated seasonal worker programme similar to those used in other countries.
“There may be a need for a special dispensation allowing seasonal labour from SADC countries where local supply is insufficient,” he told Newsroom Afrika.
More than 60 per cent of South Africa’s immigrants are estimated to come from the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
For many migrants who left, however, the labour debate is secondary to concerns about personal safety. Police data indicate that at least four foreign nationals have been killed during recent unrest.
Zimbabwean resident Wayne Chimbadzwa Mutasa, who had lived in Robertson since 2014, said he decided to leave after foreign workers were targeted during house-to-house raids.
“The people who came into the houses of Zimbabweans were police officers saying that you are living here illegally,” he told AFP.
Majatamhe, the citrus worker, said he has not yet returned home because he cannot afford the journey.
“We are afraid to stay even in this place, but the problem is, we don’t have enough money to go home,” he said.
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