Photo: Otago ImagesWith the border remaining closed to seasonal workers, cherry growers fear huge losses during January's peak harvest time. But the growers fear that won't be enough to secure the several thousand people needed during the busiest picking time. Tim Jones, who runs 45 South Cherries in Central Otago, said it was currently early in the cherry harvest so demand for workers hadn't soared and local labour was available. "We do need an excess of 5000 people in Central Otago to pick and pack the cherry crop and that's where our nervousness is." "Fruit growing in Central Otago is one of the big parts of their export earning.

Source: Otago Daily Times November 25, 2020 20:03 UTC