''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."
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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."
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Advertise with NZME.EastPack was still recruiting workers and Simson was confident they would fill positions.
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New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc chief executive Colin Bond said employers were experiencing a higher than usual number of vacancies, particularly in the packhouses.
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.
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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."
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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.
