Rows of bright citrus fruit hang unpicked in one of South Africa’s top fruit-producing regions. The workers who would normally harvest them are gone.

Aaron Majatamhe (33), a Zimbabwean farmworker, watched the sun set after his shift. “I see a lot of farm owners who are crying now. People have to harvest those naartjies but there is no-one,” he said.

The vineyards face the same problem. “It’s time to cut off the grapes and there is no-one.”

More than 160 000 foreign workers have left South Africa in recent weeks, fleeing fatal anti-migrant protests and tougher immigration enforcement. The mass departure has left farms, factories and households desperately short of labour.

Fringe anti-foreigner groups had set 30 June as an unofficial deadline for undocumented migrants to leave. The result was an exodus affecting workers across farming, domestic work and construction sectors.

Zimbabwe accounted for the largest share of those returning home, according to figures from African governments repatriating their citizens.

Sugar belt feels the pinch

The impact hit KwaZulu-Natal’s sugar belt almost immediately. One farmer on the north coast lost up to 80% of his cane-cutting workforce virtually overnight.

“Production and supply have deteriorated to the point where it is going to be difficult for the mills to stay open,” he said. He asked not to be named because he feared retaliation.

Another grower near Mid-Illovo, south of Durban, said most cane cutters in his area came from Lesotho, the tiny kingdom surrounded by South Africa.

“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.

Who will do the work?

That argument has sparked fierce debate. South Africa’s unemployment rate sits above 33%. When discouraged job seekers are included, the figure is far higher.

Labour unions and researchers say there is no shortage of South Africans willing to work. They argue many employers prefer migrant workers because they are cheaper, more flexible and less likely to demand formal contracts or legal protections.

“They are making a profit out of foreign nations,” said Patrick Williams, a local organiser with the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union.

He said foreign farmworkers routinely worked seven days a week, skipped lunch breaks to maximise piece-rate earnings and were often paid below the national minimum wage.

Skills and experience lost

For employers, the challenge goes beyond finding workers. Years of experience walked out the door with the departing migrants.

In Durban’s Chatsworth industrial area, a clothing factory manager said the departure of skilled machinists from Malawi and Mozambique had left factories struggling to meet orders.

“We can barely meet our targets because most were forced to go,” she said. She asked not to be named. It would take time for local workers to master the job, she added.

The government has promoted a “locals first” approach while acknowledging that some industries rely on foreign skills and labour. Last week it expanded its Trusted Employer Scheme, which fast-tracks worker visas for companies that meet requirements including employing predominantly South Africans and investing in skills development.

Industry groups want the government to create legal pathways for seasonal foreign labour. Siyabonga Madlala, chief executive of the South African Farmers Development Association, said South Africa should consider a regulated seasonal worker programme similar to one in the United States.

“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% of South Africa’s immigrants come from the 16-member Southern African Development Community bloc.

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Fear trumps policy debate

For many who left, debates over labour policy matter little compared to fears for their safety. Police data shows at least four foreigners were killed in the violence.

Wayne Chimbadzwa Mutasa, a Zimbabwean who had lived in Robertson since 2014, said he left after foreign workers were targeted in door-to-door raids.

“The people who came into the houses of Zimbabweans were police officers saying that you are living here illegally,” he said as he prepared for repatriation.

Majatamhe has decided to stay for now. “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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