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Richard Clarkson, president of the Motueka Fruit Growers Association, said some growers, depending on where they are, had lost their entire harvest.
He said the storm had washed away so much fruit that the labor shortage crisis was somehow averted.
“There are orchards out there that are going to be in that 80 to 100 percent crop loss, which is huge in terms of income,” Clarkson said.
“We are not only talking about apples, but kiwis [and] hop growers, who have been hit hard. It is widespread, and you will find that even some of the local vegetable growers have been affected as well. “
Clarkson said the storm would cost “millions of dollars,” and that the district and the entire country would feel the impact.
“We only have one chance to make money as gardeners, especially apples, kiwis and hops. We only have one chance a year to make money, and that is once it is harvested and sold.
“For many of us we won’t know what that looks like until we go through the other side and assess the damage.”
Clarkson said producers had begun assessing the damage, which would take two to three days to take effect.
“As producers, we will have to see which blocks we move away [from], what we do with the fruit currently on the tree.
“Anything that has been hit lightly by hail takes a good couple of days to see the impact on the fruit, but where we have severe damage it can be seen now.”
He said growers had already spent a significant amount of money to get the crop to where it was, from winter pruning to spring spraying season.
“It’s definitely a hard pill to swallow. [The weather] It’s one thing you can’t control When it has a devastating impact like it has, it is a bitter pill to swallow. “
The storm follows what Clarkson said had been a “challenging” year for producers.
While they were allowed to operate during Covid shutdowns, he said bringing labor into the country and complying with alert level regulations had been difficult.
