Growers around Pukekohe are still waiting to see the full extent of the recent hailstorm, which was exacerbated by frost the following day. According to Pukekohe Vegetable Growers' Association president Kylie Faulkner, it’s not unusual to have isolated hailstorms, but this time the damage was quite widespread.
"Right from Pukekohe through to Bombay, we're seeing and hearing of growers having damage. We heard of some growers that had early onions in that are potentially going to lose the whole crop and other growers, greens growers in particular, that have had lettuce or broccoli crops in, that have probably lost at least 80 percent of their crop that was ready to harvest. … We've got precut salad basically in the paddocks," she told rnz.co.nz.
As a result of the storm, from this weekend, grocery shelves would be short of leafy greens like Asian vegetables, lettuce, broccoli, silver beet and spinach, according to Faulkner.
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