Gareth Edgecombe: Apples – an industry in transition to a productive future

Covid-19 travel restrictions have resulted in an unprecedented amount of unpicked fruit this season. Photo / Warren Buckland

OPINION

As the country's largest grower and exporter of fresh fruit and vegetables, T&G actively supports the goal of getting more New Zealanders into jobs and moving to a high-skills, high productivity economy.

We know the composition of Aotearoa's workforce is vital to our country's wellbeing, therefore it's critical we have an informed discussion about any changes that compound existing workforce shortages.

Like many agricultural businesses, our growth has been enabled by seasonal team members assisting in the peak of the season with orcharding activities in regions with limited population. These people carry out skilled and often strenuous activities.

We actively recruit Kiwis into seasonal roles but there are real limits on the availability of skilled people ready to work in these roles, out in the regions. As a baseline, in 2019 we employed 1347 seasonal workers, with two thirds coming via the government's Recognised Seasonal Employer (RSE) scheme.

These team members provide crucial skills for our business and work at high levels of productivity, resulting in them personally benefiting from performance-based pay, which is on average, well above the minimum wage.

Since the RSE scheme was established, we've built strong and deep relationships with many Pacific communities, providing high levels of pastoral care and support to our team members.

Many of our RSE team have been with us for more than 10 years and there are generations of families working together on succession planning for roles.

The scheme is very important for our Pacific Island neighbours, with earnings reinvested into their local communities.

Due to Covid travel restrictions, over the course of this season we've had between 256 and 422 RSE team members.

On top of this, we hired more than 950 Kiwis through an extensive recruitment campaign and our partnership with the Ministry of Social Development.

Despite a huge effort to recruit Kiwis to roles, which has been supported by flexible working arrangements and increased support and incentives, at the peak of the season we were still short around 300 people per day.

This means we've seen an unprecedented amount of unpicked fruit this season. Across the industry, this shortfall will impact New Zealand's GDP earnings.

The horticulture industry, and in particular the apple sector, has a strong role to play in building Aotearoa's future prosperity.

We combine strong natural advantages with New Zealand-developed intellectual property in genetics and growing systems to create a compelling offer for large, premium international markets.

This competitive advantage can be scaled through large capital investments to contribute strongly to our economy, create a highly skilled and productive workforce, and build regional capability.

The road map and required investment to a highly productive future through automation of orchards and post-harvest services is well under way, but it will take time to transition.

So, as we plan for a post-Covid restricted world, the horticultural industry needs the RSE scheme to not only return to its pre-pandemic levels, but increase to its as-planned levels, while we work together with government to plan a long-term transition plan in line with the goals it's mapped out.

This approach will protect the investment and momentum of a critical industry which is at the start of a productivity revolution. It'll protect the value the RSE scheme brings to our Pacific Island neighbours and communities. And it'll protect the short and long term employment opportunities for Kiwis in our incredible industry.

- Gareth Edgecombe is chief executive of T&G Global.