Te Puke accommodation bursting at the seams

Western Bay of Plenty District mayor Garry Webber. Photo/George Novak

Accommodation providers in Te Puke are already packed to capacity with the beginning of the 2017 kiwifruit season kicking off.

Kiwi Corral manager Wes Archer said he was completely booked out for this kiwifruit season and had been since November last year. The accommodation was licensed to hold 500 people.

Mr Archer said by the end of each year 85 to 90 per cent of his facility would be booked out for the following kiwifruit season.

They previously had consent for 350 people but got resource consent for 500 people.

Mr Archer said the rest of the year the backpackers-only establishment operated between 30 to 40 per cent.

"The issues accommodation faces in Te Puke is that it's only for three to four months of the year, Te Puke is not a destination for tourists."

He said people often found accommodation closer to Tauranga in Papamoa and Mount Maunganui and would commute out to Te Puke.

Te Puke Holiday park owner Trish Hughes said they had one caravan space left at the camping site. The facilities hold 170 people at its peak.

"It's like this every year," she said.

File/File

The workers were generally made up of people from Chile, Germany, and France, she said.

Te Puke Hotel owner Sue Peat said they had beds for 16 backpackers and when the season fully kicked off they would be "chocka until the end of the pack".

Kiwifruit grower Neil Trebilco said he was not surprised accommodation was booked out with housing at a premium and the growing industry.

Across New Zealand, the kiwifruit industry had 10,000 permanent employees and 8000 seasonal workers each year, said New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers chief executive Nikki Johnson.

Earlier this week the Bay of Plenty Times reported the New Zealand kiwifruit industry could grow in the next decade to become a $10 billion industry by increasing its share of added value.

Te Puke Economic Development Group Mark Boyle said there had been phenomenal growth in the kiwifruit industry over the last few years and the need for more accommodation across the town was needed more than ever as post harvest and orchard activity grows.

Mark Boyle head of Te Puke Economic Development Group. Photo/Andrew Warner

Mr Boyle said there was an entrepreneurial opportunity for more Kiwi Corrals to be opened to cater for the workers which flood into Te Puke for the kiwifruit season.

It was a difficult solution to find because of the lack of need for accommodation for the rest of the year.

Western Bay of Plenty mayor Garry Webber said council had set up the Rural Committee to help curb growing issues across the Western Bay.

The kiwifruit industry was set to double in the next 10 years which would create issues with accommodation, roading and infrastructure, he said.

Council had initiated research into the issue and identify possible solutions.

The solutions that have been identified included:

-Better public transport routes and timetables - to connect local workers who already have accommodation with pack houses and orchards.

-Better use of local workers.

-Register of accommodation providers to connect seasonal workers with providers.

-Guidelines for seasonal worker accommodation.