The looming threat of Omicron is behind a "good chunk" of a drop in the Bay of Plenty's economic confidence. Photo / NZME
The looming threat of Omicron is behind a "good chunk" of a drop in the Bay of Plenty's economic confidence. Photo / NZME
The looming threat of Omicron is behind a "good chunk" of a drop in the Bay of Plenty's economic confidence, a new report says.
Westpac's Regional Economic Confidence latest report showed confidence in the region's economic prospects took a hit over the December quarter sliding 8 percentage points to -7.
Westpac's acting chief economist Michael Gordon said Omicron most likely explained "a good chunk of the fall in confidence" as well as slipping forestry prices.
"Otherwise, the region remains on a sound economic footing, and we expect confidence to rebound over the remainder of the year," he said.
"We are still wary of worker shortages, and we will be keeping one eye on developments in this regard."
Trevelyan's Pack & Cool managing director James Trevelyan said rising Omicron cases was going to be challenging heading into the next kiwifruit season.
Trevelyan said he was focused on keeping the Omicron risk at bay and he was working to flatline labour demand now to reduce stress later.
Fruit packing would begin in about four weeks and staff numbers were tight, he said.
"But we're out there looking for people . . . every facility will be the same."
New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Incorporated chief executive Colin Bond said the country would need about 24,000 seasonal workers to pick and pack this year's harvest.
"Border closures due to Covid-19 have restricted the number of Working Visa Holders in New Zealand, resulting in a forecast shortage of 6,500 people."
Covid-19 and other issues such as the eruption in Tonga could also impact the number of RSE workers able to join the kiwifruit harvest, he said.
The group was working with the Government and wider industry to reach the numbers it needed, he said.
"In addition to this, an outbreak of Omicron throughout the harvest could also negatively impact upon the work-ready seasonal labour force."
He said the industry had managed to complete successful harvests in 2020 and 2021 despite Covid-19 and had built up experience during that time, and vaccinations were expected to "dampen the impact somewhat" .
Staffing was also a worry for Red Stag Group chief executive Marty Verry.
Red Stag Group chief executive Marty Verry. Photo / Supplied
"What is on people's minds is those disruptions, having staff out from Omicron coming into the community, and what it does to the volumes, to production."
That would be the unknown for the next few months, he said.
"We are reasonably well positioned with over 95 per cent of vaccination across our workforce."
Ambrosia Restaurant and Bar owner Kris Beehre said numbers of customers had plummeted since the country moved to the red traffic light setting.
"We're always looking for staff. . . but then the levels changed and we were trying to give staff enough hours."
He said it would be the worst of it now, as the country had only just gone into the red setting and he figured people would return as they learned to live with Omicron in the community.
Retail New Zealand chief executive Greg Harford said there had been a drop in business confidence in the retail sector over the last three months.
Harford said a quarter of his organisation's members weren't sure their businesses will survive the next 12 months and summer spending was not enough to recover from the previous quarter when "everyone was locked down".
He said consumers were nervous about spending as interest rates rise and physically visiting retail environments due to Covid-19, which had played "a significant part" in the drop in consumer confidence.
