Jo Raphael: Kiwifruit industry shows resilience in time of crisis

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern at Trevelyan's kiwifruit and avocado packhouse and coolstore in Te Puke. Photo / George Novak

COMMENT:

The humble kiwifruit has long been an icon in the Bay of Plenty.

Its furry, greenish-brown exterior and sweet, acidic, fleshy interior has graced fruit salads, smoothies and decorated pavlovas for decades.

And how to eat it has been the topic of many a heated office discussion. (Do you scoop yours with a spoon or, peel and slice?)

Its success in the horticultural industry has been hard-fought.

It has survived Psa disease, counterfeits and droughts.

It's heartening to see the region's powerhouse industry performing well at a time when there is so much uncertainty and when businesses are struggling.

While the hospitality and tourism industries are struggling in the wake of Covid-19, the kiwifruit industry is hiring Kiwis.

Horticulture was deemed an essential service during lockdown.

On average, nationally the kiwifruit industry employs about 20,000 seasonal workers and this year, due to border closures, New Zealand workers displaced by Covid-19 have consequently found jobs in the sector.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's visit to Trevelyan's packhouse yesterday, hot on the heels of level 1 kicking in was timely and reinforces the importance of the industry as well as providing a morale boost for the region.

Ardern thanked the kiwifruit workers and the primary industry that carried on through the Covid-19 crisis and said they just got on and hired workers from other industries.

A Bay packhouse boss says it is the industry's "biggest kiwifruit harvest ever", as volumes of fruit reach record levels.

The news comes after a season update from Zespri which shows the median price of gold kiwifruit licences has skyrocketed to $400,023 per hectare from $290,000 in 2019.

This is fantastic for our region and we should be proud of the resilience and the flexibility of our workforce and shows that in a time of crisis one industry can reach out to others.