Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Premium
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Kiwifruit industry battles Omicron and labour shortage

Carmen Hall
By Carmen Hall
Bay of Plenty Times·
23 Mar, 2022 06:00 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Trevelyan Pack & Cool managing director James Trevelyan says the labour shortage is causing big issues. Photo / NZME

Trevelyan Pack & Cool managing director James Trevelyan says the labour shortage is causing big issues. Photo / NZME

''Please help us.''

That's the message from one major packhouse boss who had about 130 workers off yesterday due to Omicron and another 20 that were close contacts.

"That is more than one shift which is just not here," Trevelyan Pack & Cool managing director James Trevelyan said.

He said the recent wild weather did not pose a threat to this year's harvest but Omicron was already having a severe impact on the workforce. Everybody in the industry was "scratching for labour".

"It's tough, we're working hard to make sure we have happy faces in the corridors. We're pleading for workers from all sectors to help. My wife is even keyed up."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
EastPack chief executive Hamish Simson. Photo / NZME
EastPack chief executive Hamish Simson. Photo / NZME

EastPack chief executive Hamish Simson said he believed they had enough people in theory but Omicron had created more challenges.

Simson declined to say how many workers were absent but he said its sites were not at capacity.

"We have some people staying away from work. If their kids are sick and someone has to stay at home to look after them that is when you also start losing labour indirectly as well."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

EastPack was still recruiting workers and Simson was confident they would fill positions.

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chief executive Colin Bond. Photo / Supplied
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chief executive Colin Bond. Photo / Supplied

New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chief executive Colin Bond said employers were experiencing a higher than usual number of vacancies, particularly in the packhouses.

Discover more

Labour shortage pressure for kiwifruit as first shipment leaves

17 Mar 11:09 PM
Business

Kiwifruit workers earning up to $40 an hour as sector battles labour shortage

05 Mar 07:00 PM
New Zealand

'Shut the doors': Tauranga businesses fear impact on staff as Omicron spreads

15 Feb 05:08 PM

There was a wide range of incentives for people to work in the kiwifruit industry and he encouraged potential employees to ask employers what they were offering.

"There are flexible shifts available where employees can tell employers the hours that they are available to work. This is particularly attractive for parents who can only work during school hours."

Bond said this year pickers who showed aptitude were earning bin rates of more than $40 an hour and most packhouses were paying the living wage of $22.75 per hour or more.

The kiwifruit industry required 24,000 seasonal workers to pick and pack and the majority of those roles were in the Bay of Plenty.

There is currently a shortage of around 6500 workers, Bond said.

The impact of recent heavy rain on kiwifruit orchards was yet to be seen.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"Unlike other adverse weather, such as hail, rain is unlikely to have a significant impact on fruit quality. Areas experiencing high wind may have fruit drop, but any extent of this is yet to be seen.

"To protect the vines and fruit, as well as labelling issues, kiwifruit cannot be picked when it is wet from rain."

The kiwifruit industry is desperately seeking seasonal workers. Photo / Supplied
The kiwifruit industry is desperately seeking seasonal workers. Photo / Supplied

In a statement last week, Zespri chief global supply officer Alastair Hulbert said while the global demand for kiwifruit remained strong, the industry was facing a number of headwinds this season, given the ongoing impact Covid was having on labour availability.

"The labour shortage will place significant pressure on the industry and it will challenge our ability to get all of the crop picked."

Hulbert said Zespri was looking at exporting more than 115 million trays of SunGold and 70m trays of Green in 2022. This season marks its first commercial volumes of RubyRed available to consumers in New Zealand, Singapore, Japan and China.

Katikati kiwifruit grower Amber Canuel said the cooler temperatures would elevate sugar levels for higher brix levels.

The rain was just slowing down the harvest, she said.

A MetService spokesman said 25.2mm of rainfall was recorded at Tauranga Airport as of 8am yesterday, and Rotorua had 54.8mm.

Save

    Share this article

    Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

Bay of Plenty Times

Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins

Bay of Plenty Times

'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20
Bay of Plenty Times

Man hides out in bush for 5 months after slicing victim with machete over $20

Christopher Millen went bush, stealing a rifle, tools and a sheep from a nearby house.

17 Jul 08:00 AM
Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins
Bay of Plenty Times

Waipuna Hospice burglary: 'Dumpster divers' raid charity's skip bins

17 Jul 05:45 AM
'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test
Bay of Plenty Times

'It's on in the Tron': Robertson looking forward to final test

17 Jul 05:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP