Fruit pickers in Hawkes Bay are welcoming the chance to hire overseas workers, saying New Zealanders are not up to the job.
But they say the declaration of a labour shortage in the region for the coming apple harvest has come two months too late.
Contractor Richard Campbell,who uses workers available through Work and Income New Zealand, said it was tough to find the right people for orchards around Hastings and Napier. Last week was a perfect example.
"By Friday I had 45 people go through my books and of that we could say that five would have been any good, maybe seven would be okay."
At one plum crop, his workers had picked only 29 tonnes of fruit; normally that should be up to 35 tonnes.
"We lost about 10 to 12 per cent of the crop which should have been in the bucket ... that's about $5000."
Mr Campbell said that sometimes overseas labour worked better.
"We've got backpackers who bring in overseas money, who are visiting Hawkes Bay and they want to work. I have employed a number of backpackers this week and the productivity has shot up. I am happy, the growers are happy and the workers are happy.
"Last week was a different story, the workers had no work ethic."
He commended Work and Income for making an effort to put New Zealand labour first, but said that in many cases it just was not working.
"Many people are being forced to work on the orchards. These young people that come in are good people, but when they see a ladder, they freak out."
He had also fielded reports from "unhappy growers". In one incident, workers were peering through a hedge at a grower's daughter near a swimming pool instead of working. In another, one was offering drugs to fellow workers.
