Overseas workers are back in the orchards this season, helping to harvest the region’s apple and hop crops after a severe labour shortage through the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Hoddys Orchard near Brightwater, Kevin Withington was a teenager hired to pick fruit on the orchard 20 years ago and today he is orchard manager taking charge of the harvest.
He says overseas travellers are once again walking through the gate seeking work and combined with Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) workers and locals, the orchard has begun the harvest with a full crew of pickers.
A good crop in terms of quality and size forms walls of apples along the rows of trees and this year. But it is a bittersweet harvest when many growers in Hawke’s Bay have suffered devastating losses on orchards during Cyclone Gabrielle.
“You certainly feel for those who have lost everything. Hopefully they can rebuild. One thing I’ve noticed is how resilient people in horticulture and agriculture are.”
Kevin says it has been a tough couple of years for the apple industry due to logistical problems getting fruit to overseas markets and poorer returns for the fruit. Regardless of how well the fruit is grown, growers can not control the weather, shipping or prices.
However, it is a promising start when there is a good crop to harvest. The orchard has 55ha of apples that produce Dazzle, Kanzi, Royal Gala, Braeburn, Fuji, Pink Lady and a mix of strains and colour degrees within those varieties. Getting each variety to the perfect size and colour for each customer is made easier with technology.
“There’s so much technology now and pretty much an app for everything. If a customer wants a certain size and colour, technology helps us monitor the fruit to achieve the results you want to get.”
Technology even enables them to take a photo of apples on the tree that can estimate the number of apples in the crop.
Meanwhile the hop harvest will produce a Superdelic brew this year. NZ Hops has released a new hop variety this year that has been 10 years in the making and its aroma as well as its name has grabbed the attention of brewers.
General manager for sales and marketing, Blair Stewart, says Superdelic, an aromatic hop, has received enormous feedback globally for its rich berryfruit flavours mixed with candy, citrus and tropical fruit characteristics.
“We wanted to launch a new brand that stood out from the crowd. This is quite a unique hop and it has got growers and brewers interested.”
The New Zealand harvest follows a Northern Hemisphere harvest that was down by 10-20 percent due to weather conditions and Blair says that helps rebalance the global oversupply of hops.
Only about 10 per cent of the local crop makes its way into New Zealand brews, with the remainder of the crop exported.
That makes up just two percent of the global hop market.
Hence it concentrates on being a niche player and Blair says the industry is optimistic about the crop on the vines this year.
“The word on the street is it will be a good harvest.”
NZ Hops holds a two-day festival in March for brewers from around the world to assess the aromatic crop for their craft.
NZ Hops is a cooperative representing 27 of the hop growers in the country, while some growers market their own hops.
