For the third year in a row growers in Australia are suffering due to a shortage of international backpackers and holidaymakers who previously harvested the crops.
Before the pandemic, as many as 200,000 visitors came from around the world each year as part of Australia’s working holiday programme, which typically allows people aged up to 30 or 35 from various countries to work for at least 12 months. Many of these travellers would go to rural areas to take jobs on farms for up to six months picking fruit, vegetables and other produce according to www.straitstimes.com
There were just 71,704 visa holders in the country at the end of September, according to the latest official data. This spells a shortfall of 172,000 workers on farms across the country, the National Farmers’ Federation estimated.