Apple growers in New Zealand are fearful in the face of a labour shortage. Already at the peak time for thinning their trees, producers in Hawke’s Bay have said that government agencies are not giving them the help they need.

According to Gary Jones, member services manager at industry body Pipfruit NZ, growers already need 1,800 more workers to thin trees. They are calling on the NZ labour authorities to extend their declaration of a seasonal labour shortage beyond central Hawke’s Bay to the entire region. This would enable tourists to get seasonal work permits in the area.

New Zealand press reports suggest that the department of work and income is likely to declare a shortage on February 1, which will give growers time to plan recruitment for the harvest, but does not help those requiring labour for thinning. “In Hawke’s Bay we need the right people, with the right attitude at the right time,” one grower told the press. Shortages have already been declared in the Bay of Plenty and Central Otago, and Pipfruit NZ fears that workers will be diverted to those regions and stay when the Hawke’s Bay harvest begins in February.

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