Motueka growers are back on track for a fruitful apple season after taking a hit of up to $90 million when a large part of their last harvest was ruined by hail damage. Still, there are concerns that because of the pandemic growers might not be able to secure enough workers to pick all the crops.
New Zealand Apples and Pears chief executive Alan Pollard said the industry lost between $80 and $90 million of income from the hailstorm on Boxing Day which lasted more than half an hour in areas such as Motueka, Riwaka, Tasman and Lower Moutere.
About 50,000 tonnes of fruit, or 40 per cent of their normal crop, was lost in Motueka because of the hail storm, he said. If there were no major weather problems, there would be about 115,000 tonnes of apples and pears to harvest nationally, but growers were likely to face pressure trying to get enough workers to get the crops picked, Pollard said.
Source: stuff.co.nz
