A shortage of workers is forecast for the 2022 season

In New Zealand, kiwifruit professionals predict that the shortage of workers will be a major problem. It is estimated that around 6,500 workers will be missing, or around 23% of the workforce required for the 2022 season.

 

Border restrictions, linked to COVID-19, dramatically reduce the number of foreign workers available. While for the 2020/21 season the shortage was around 4,500 workers, according to Zespri's estimates there will be a shortage of around 6,500 workers, or around 23% of the workforce required for the 2022 season.

 

“We believe that to meet our growth targets, we need around 1,000 additional workers per year for the next 5 years. It is clear that we will need to make significant operational changes for 2022 in order to be able to pick and pack the harvest "said Dan Mathieson, CEO of Zespri.

 

The 2022 harvest promises to be larger, with around 10 to 15 million additional trays of Zespri SunGold kiwifruit to harvest and pack. To manage the shortage of workers, Zespri will put in place various measures to try to streamline the process and reduce the manpower required. These measures include moving towards greater bulk volume which will allow efficiency gains and better use of available capacity and manpower, according to Alastair Hulbert, Chief Global Supply Officer at Zespri.

 

Despite the fact that the labor shortage problem could worsen depending on future developments of COVID-19, Dan Mathieson expressed confidence in the market outlook, because global demand for neo kiwifruit Zealander continues to strengthen.

 

source : ruralnewsgroup.co.nz, foodticker.co.nz