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Bejon Haswell / Stuff
Strawberry prices averaged $ 3.45 per 250-gram basket in November, down from $ 6.04 in October.
The cost of strawberries at local supermarkets has dropped dramatically due to a glut caused by border restrictions and rising transportation costs, recently released data from Stats NZ shows.
Strawberry prices averaged $ 3.45 per 250-gram basket in November, down from $ 6.04 in October.
But while it is good news for those planning strawberry champagne this summer, producers were “suffering like hell,” the industry said.
Growers were unable to pick the fruit fast enough and many berries were too ripe for export, leading to an oversupply and a drop in price.
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“The prices are lower than what we normally see in a month of November, being December generally when they are cheaper. Some people can see even cheaper prices during the first half of December, ”said Stats NZ consumer price manager Katrina Dewbery.
Strawberry Growers New Zealand executive manager Michael Ahern said the fruit was in its prime.
“We only want one thing from New Zealanders. Go and buy a lot, right away. “
Planting decisions were made as early as January and growers had made assumptions about export demand and labor availability from the beginning.
“In other words, clearly before Covid.”
STUFF
The CSR scheme is essential for the wine and kiwi industries.
Despite a great effort by the industry to convince the Government to allow privately run isolation facilities for foreign workers to help with the harvest, the Government did not give ground. Higher export costs had exacerbated the problem, he said.
The growers were hardy and had export businesses lined up, but they couldn’t pick the crops. Some had stayed in the field.
To make matters worse, returns were good this year and the collective excess went to supermarkets, Ahern said.
Supplied
Michael Ahern, CEO of Strawberry Growers NZ, and Anthony Rakich, President. Strawberry bodies can’t be harvested fast enough, says Ahern.
“They behave in the way they are trained to behave and offer the consumer the best possible deal and the producer is the recipient. About now, it hurts like hell. “
In the long run, growers would need a boost of confidence before making decisions about planting a “critical mass” of strawberry plants next year. That could mean fewer strawberries on sale in 2021.
Growers wondered if they would get labor to plant in May. If there were no manpower for later in the year, it would be too great a risk for many of them, Ahern said.
“Why would you waste your capital?”
An ongoing labor shortage would also put full-time workers in the orchards at risk, he said.
