Zespri global sales top $5 billion for 2024–25 season amid strong demand
Zespri says global sales for the 2024-25 season topped $5 billion on the back of strong demand and market returns.
Zespri chief executive Dan Mathieson says unless the kiwifruit industry gets more people to work in the sector, it may have to look at slowing down its speed of growth.
Matthieson told Hort News the biggest challenge for the industry is getting a good and consistent supply of people coming through the sector. Those who can help pick the fruit - as well as prepare the orchards for the next season's crop. He adds the sector also want people to work through the post-harvest facilities to ensure that fruit is being managed well, to get it to market in the best condition.
Mathieson says New Zealanders currently make up about 55% of the kiwifruit sector's workforce, while backpackers make up about 25% and RSE workers around 15%.
"We have a good mix, but we are certainly looking for more to supplement the migrant workers and the backpackers," he told Hort News.
"Normally, we would have about 400,000 backpackers in NZ, but that number is down to about 7,000. More of those are going home because of continued border restrictions - so we need more people to replace them."
Matthieson says labour shortage are right across the primary sector, all of which are working with the Government to look at more options to resolve the workforce problem.
"Covid is an incredibly challenging situation and I think what we need to see is more Kiwis getting vaccinated," he adds. "Once we have got the NZ population safe through vaccination, we will be looking at the relationship with the Pacific Islands to increase the amount of RSEs we need to help in the kiwifruit industry.
"We know that in the islands there is some resistance at the moment, until there are good levels of vaccination to allow many of their people to come into NZ."
However, Mathieson hopes that when those vaccines are rolled out in the Pacific Islands and in NZ, the situation will change and we see a return of both the migrant workers groups and also the backpackers.
Profitability issues facing arable farmers are the same across the world, says New Zealand's special agricultural trade envoy Hamish Marr.
Over 85% of Fonterra farmer suppliers will be eligible for customer funding up to $1,500 for solutions designed to drive on-farm efficiency gains and reduce emissions intensity.
Tighter beef and lamb production globally have worked to the advantage of NZ, according to the Meat Industry Association (MIA).
Groundswell is ramping up its 'Quit Paris' campaign with signs going up all over the country.
Some farmers in the Nelson region are facing up to five years of hard work to repair their damaged properties caused by the recent devastating floods.
Federated Farmers is joining major industry-good bodies in not advocating for the Government to withdraw from the Paris Agreement.