Labour shortage puts wine industry at risk

Labour shortages among Marlborough's vines are becoming a critical problem for the wine industry, which is nervously bracing itself for worse to come.

This year's pruning season is well under way, but masses of straggly vines remain untethered with just 10 weeks left to complete the job.

The region's vineyards cover 15,000ha - equivalent to 30 million plants - which need to be pruned before spring.

But 400 to 1000 pruners more are estimated to be required for the job.

New Zealand Wine Growers chief executive Philip Gregan said there was a risk the short-term labour problem could become a long-term one as the grape-growing area was expected to grow by another third within five years.

"We're going to need 40 per cent more labour in five years' time. Getting people here on a sustainable basis to prune the vineyards is a real concern."

While the problem was particularly acute in Marlborough, he said labour shortages and parallel immigration issues were something the nation as a whole had to tackle. Mr Gregan said some growers might feel they had no option but to employ illegal labour to protect livelihoods.

"They are being forced into a situation where they are saying, 'We have to get it done. Maybe we have to think about taking on illegal people', and that's not a desirable situation for anybody."

Some contractors and growers were calling on immigration officials to offer an amnesty to overstayers and illegal immigrants this season.

Marlborough Wine Growers spokesman Stuart Smith said the organisation was surveying growers to get a picture of when they were expecting to prune.

It was likely some growers were holding off until later in the winter but labour constraints meant they risked getting caught in a bottleneck.

While some of the labour problem could be alleviated with machine pruners, that was not a realistic option for the sauvignon blanc plants which made up 70 per cent Marlborough's vineyards.

Marlborough had built its reputation on quality and that was at risk if pruning was not completed properly, Mr Smith said.

Easing off on pruning for one season would leave vines open to disease, requiring further management in the future.

Joy Askin, who runs English classes for Marlborough's vineyard workers, says she met many foreign workers whose contractors withheld payments or did not pay correctly. 

Mrs Askin said the workers needed some sort of advocate they could go to make sure they were getting the right wages.

Under pressure

Marlborough, New Zealand's biggest grape-growing region, cannot attract enough workers to handle its crop.

As many as 1000 more workers are needed to prune vines before spring.

With the vineyard area forecast to grow by as much as 5000ha in the next five years, industry leaders warn that labour shortages pose a threat to Marlborough's international reputation as a quality wine producer.

- NZPA