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From False Promises to Fresh Start: Thai Berry Pickers Find Opportunities at Home
Chaiyaphum, Thailand – The cows mooed from the barn as the herder led them out to be viewed by prospective buyers. Among them was 44-year-old Somchai*, observing the herd intently while his wife stood beside him holding their four-year old daughter.
“I’ll take this one,” he said to the cattle trader as his daughter pointed to the same cow.
Somchai, was among 40 seasonal agricultural workers who returned from Sweden after being exploited in the berry-picking industry. With support from the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Assisted Voluntary Return and Reintegration (AVRR) programme his return to Thailand brought dignity and renewed hope to rebuild his life as a farmer.
According to Thailand’s Department of Employment, thousands of Thai nationals, mostly farmers from the Northeastern region, are recruited each year to pick wild berries during the harvest season in Sweden and Finland, which runs from July to September. This period coincides with the offseason for rice cultivation in Thailand, prompting farmers to find alternative sources of income in distant lands.
Rumours of people earning a lucrative sum during this three-month stint – sometimes as much as a year’s income from rice farming in Thailand – drove Somchai to migrate for work in the Nordic countries in 2022. His first experience working as a seasonal worker in Finland went well, but his second stint in Sweden in 2023 took an unfortunate turn leaving him in heavy debt.
“I had been to Finland, but this time I decided to go to Sweden because I thought there would be better opportunities to pick berries and earn higher income to pay off my debt,” he said.
However, the reality was far from his expectations.
“When I arrived in Sweden, the employer didn’t pay me the wages as initially promised. They said wages would be paid on a weekly basis, but that never happened. They kept deducting items from my earnings without any proper explanation or details on the reason or grounds for these deductions. In fact, I never knew how much I actually earned.”
Despite working abroad under employment contracts and visa arrangements that are supposed to guarantee them a minimum wage and fair working conditions, many migrants working as seasonal berry pickers find themselves in similar instances of labour exploitation.
“I had no choice but to stay determined and not lose hope. I kept working, picking blueberries, cloudberries and lingonberries, in hopes of earning enough money to repay the loan I took to travel to Sweden,” Somchai recounted.
He recounted that a typical day began with a long drive from the accommodation to the picking zone, followed by long hours of labour that often stretched from sunrise to sunset - far beyond their stated working hours. Workers endured rough terrain, making the job both physically and mentally demanding.
“It was tough,” Somchai recalled. “When I signed the contract, the employer had agreed to provide accommodation, meals and gasoline for the workers.”
However, these entitlements were provided either partially, or in some cases, never materialized at all.
“We were given 3-4 mackerels for a group of seven people and a boiled egg each for both breakfast and lunch. That was all we had to sustain us for an entire day of work. The employer didn’t care if there was enough food. The accommodation was no better, with overcrowded and uncomfortable living conditions”
After two months of grueling work and difficult living conditions, Somchai decided to stand up for his rights. Despite attempts by the employer to negotiate a compromise, he remained resolute and lodged a formal complaint with the police.
“The police came in with a Thai translator, making it easier for me to report my experience,” he said.
The local authorities referred him, along with 39 other workers who suffered labour exploitation, to IOM. Of the 40 beneficiaries, nine participated in legal proceedings against their employer in Sweden. IOM provided support in filing compensation and justice for labour rights violations while also facilitating their safe return and reintegration. IOM personnel from offices in Finland and Thailand coordinated to facilitate his journey back home from Sweden to Thailand.
“IOM staff helped me arrange my return with the Swedish authorities,” Somchai said. “The journey home went smoothly. Once I arrived in Thailand, IOM arranged transportation for me all the way back to my hometown.”
Under the AVRR program, IOM offers administrative, logistical and financial support to migrants who wish to return voluntarily to their countries of origin but lack the means to do so. The assistance covers the entire journey from pre-departure counseling and arrangements, movement coordination, to post-arrival reception, rehabilitation and reintegration.
“Reintegration support is crucial for ensuring that migrants can successfully rebuild their lives after returning home,” emphasized Saskia Kok, Head of Protection at IOM Thailand. “Without proper assistance, the transition can be overwhelming, especially for those who have faced exploitation. IOM and partners focus on providing comprehensive return and reintegration support across socioeconomic and psychosocial dimensions, creating sustainable opportunities that empower migrants to rebuild their livelihoods and a better future for themselves and their families.”
Somchai is now settled in his hometown focused on rebuilding his life, hoping to break free from the vicious cycle that has trapped so many farmers.
“I have now returned to work as a farmer,” he said. “Rearing the cattle will allow me to earn enough income to support my family.”
The cattle provided are part of IOM’s reintegration support to returning migrants, including cash and in-kind assistance, with a focus on strengthening their socio-economic resilience and providing sustainable, long-term solutions.
The support was specifically tailored based on needs assessment interviews with the returning Thai migrants, who expressed the desire to raise cattle as a supplementary source of income to their crop farming.
Seeing that many people continue to take chances with lucrative opportunities abroad, Somchai urged them to be fully informed of their rights and working conditions before taking the decision.
“You need to review the details carefully, so you won’t be exploited,” he said. “If anything goes wrong, don’t hesitate to report it to the authorities.”
*Name changed to protect interviewee’s identity.
IOM’s Return and Reintegration support to returning migrants was made possible through financial support from the Australian Department of Home Affairs (DHA) under the Bali Process: Return and Reintegration Services to Stranded Migrants (BP AVRR) programme and the Swedish Gender Equality Agency, under the Return and Sustainable Reintegration Programme for Victims of Trafficking”
Note: The shift towards applying the Seasonal Workers Directive to berry pickers is planned to become effective in Sweden on 1 June 2025. This is expected to lead to increased accountability in Sweden’s seasonal berry picking sector.
This story was written by Tappanai Boonbandit, Media and Communications Assistant at IOM Thailand
