By ANDREW BROARD – The Nelson Mail | http://www.stuff.co.nz

Nelson’s apple harvest is about to begin with a distinctly Kiwi flavour this week, as more New Zealanders take up work in orchards.

Matthew Hoddy, of Vailima Orchards in Hope, said the ratio of Kiwi workers had increased from about 60 per cent in previous years to 70 per cent this season. “We definitely don’t have the big international flavour this year,” he said.

The high number of New Zealanders, coupled with the Pacific Island workers brought to the region via the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme, has left hundreds of backpackers with few jobs to fight over, but growers with full picking crews.

“A lot of backpackers aren’t finding work in the hospitality or retail sectors this year, so are coming to places like Nelson and Hawke’s Bay for work in the orchards, which makes for a good situation for growers,” said Pipfruit New Zealand chairman Ian Palmer.

The shift has been caused partly from the “hangover” of last year’s recession, with more locals looking for work, Mr Palmer said.

Richard Inglis, of Inglis Horticulture in Riwaka, said with the extra New Zealanders and a lot of backpackers in the region, he has had little problem filling his picking crews earlier than normal, while David Easton, of Easton Apples, said he has had to turn away “hundreds and hundreds” of overseas workers.

Growers spoken to by The Nelson Mail said their preference was to hire New Zealanders first.

“There are no excuses not to be able to pick all the apples at their optimum this year, because growers should have no problem finding workers. Most growers are getting inquiries daily,” Mr Palmer said.

Most workers began the harvest season today, and while the first week was expected to be slow, growers predicted it would be full on after that. “We’ve had some variable weather this summer, so the season is a little later than normal, but after a week or so, we will be very busy and it should go rather deep into the season as well,” said Mr Palmer.

Growers will be hoping that busy period turns into dollars after the “challenging” overseas market last season – because of the recession and a high exchange rate – meant they could not take advantage of the exceptional quality of the apples.

While the exchange rate is still higher than most growers would like, some markets, including the United States, seem to be in much better shape.

“This year should be a mixed bag, but there is a lot more focus from growers, which is great, and I think they will be keeping a close eye on the markets and pick where they send their apples,” Mr Palmer said.

Last year, Nelson pipfruit exports earned $100 million, down $25m on the previous year.

This season’s Nelson crop is expected to be 4.5m cartons, down from 4.7m. Nationally, the crop is down 15 per cent to 14.8m cartons.

Mr Easton said the 2010 apples would not be as good as last year, but he hopes the prices will be kinder to growers.

“It will be a challenging season from start to finish. It won’t be an absolute cracker like last year, and the exchange rate is still pathetically high. It’s impossible to pick where it will go next, but there are some promising signs in some varieties.”

Tags: backpacker job new zealand, seasonal work new zealand