Lend a helping mandarin!
West Auckland community foundation The Trusts is calling on Kiwis with citrus fruit trees on their properties to pick surplus fruit and donate it to those in need, rather than let it go to waste.
He is also confident quality won’t be compromised, but it will be a big effort.
“A couple of things are happening,” he told Rural News. “The unemployment around the regions is a lot lower now than historically -- certainly in Hawkes Bay, which has had some of the highest unemployment in NZ.
“The regions are doing well so we are competing for that resource. And the backpackers are just not around. I am not sure why that is but right across the regions they are struggling to get the backpackers in.”
The major issue is getting the harvest in.
About 300 more workers have been found in Hawkes Bay since the declaration of a seasonal labour shortage on March 12.
“That is quite encouraging but we can always do with more,” says Pollard. “Our biggest worry is that next season the volumes are likely to be increased again so it is a cascading effect of where pickers will come from next time.”
Because they discuss this every year with Government they are taking a long term view. The industry is working on that with the Ministries for Business and Innovation and Social Development, he says.
