The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

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 / The Country

Covid 19 coronavirus: 12 million apples rot at Hawke's Bay orchard

By Sahiban Hyde
Hawkes Bay Today·
31 Mar, 2020 01:38 AM3 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.

Paul Paynter, Yummy Apples general manager, believes the future is uncertain for the industry. Photo / File

Paul Paynter, Yummy Apples general manager, believes the future is uncertain for the industry. Photo / File

A Hawke's Bay grower says approximately 12 million apples will likely rot on his trees because of Covid-19 disruptions to the fruit market.

Yummy Apples general manager Paul Paynter said last week was right up there with the most stressful he had experienced in the industry, including the March 1994 Hawke's Bay hailstorm which caused hundreds of thousands of dollars of damage.

"It was the worst week I can remember and we were all in an extremely stressful situation with the weather rigours and trying to make sure we comply with the Covid-19 restrictions," Paynter said.

"Our shipping has been disrupted, particularly China. The customers are fearful, fruit markets are closed. It is not good for business.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There is a disruption to the supply chain - 6000 bins, at 2000 apples per bin, will stay in the orchards and won't get harvested," Paynter said.

Yummy Apples' packhouse is now operating at 60 per cent capacity, Paynter said.

"Everyone operating within the packhouse has to maintain the two metre distance rule.

NeedToKnow3
NeedToKnow3

"Our smoko room, which before this used to be a cacophony of sound, now has lonely Nigels sitting in their own corners."

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Yummy Fruit apples. Photo / File
Yummy Fruit apples. Photo / File

He said workers at the orchard had to maintain their distances and people were "spread far and wide".

"Our crop is 10 per cent bigger than we thought, and we have 20 per cent less shipping. It's a logistical crisis," Paynter said.

"Our New Zealand sales are weird. Two weeks ago we had record sales, when people were panic buying, our biggest sales.

"Now we have less than usual sales. It is hard to forecast what the future would look like."

He said while the orchard had enough manual labour, they were in need of skilled labour.

"We have enough staff, we have people who have lost their jobs who have come to the rescue, people in tough family situations who would rather pick apples for a month than be at home," he said.

"But we need a couple of forklift drivers, quality controllers, lines supervisors and other skilled labour."

But he said as the lockdown went on, they were expecting to not be able to pick their crops.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"There is already lack of cool stores and pack house facilities. Logistic constraints prevent us from harvesting all crops.

"People are cautious and we should be too. It is better to be prepared, than roll the dice and hope for the best."

• Covid19.govt.nz: The Government's official Covid-19 advisory website

Save

    Share this article

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

Latest from The Country

The Country

'Town meets country' in 'absolutely brilliant' night

The Country

Commerce Commission dismisses farmers' complaint against banks

The Country

'Classrooms are so peaceful': School embraces wool carpet


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

'Town meets country' in 'absolutely brilliant' night
The Country

'Town meets country' in 'absolutely brilliant' night

Heart, passion, contribution recognised as five receive association life memberships

21 Jul 04:33 AM
Commerce Commission dismisses farmers' complaint against banks
The Country

Commerce Commission dismisses farmers' complaint against banks

21 Jul 04:29 AM
'Classrooms are so peaceful': School embraces wool carpet
The Country

'Classrooms are so peaceful': School embraces wool carpet

21 Jul 03:42 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
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • 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