Cherry pickers being turned away

Central Otago's fruit growers are fielding up to 20 calls a day from hopeful workers as the first cherry varieties are picked for the domestic market.

The potential glut of workers is a relief to growers after a shortage two years ago when part of a bumper cherry crop was lost.

The general manager of 45 South Management Ltd, Tim Jones, of Cromwell, said the company was receiving between 15 and 20 inquiries daily from people wanting work, and most had to be turned away.

Between 300 to 400 seasonal staff were employed by the company each year, 20% of which were Vanuatuans sourced through the Recognised Seasonal Employer scheme (RSE).

"We are having to either put people on a waiting list or refer them to Seasonal Solutions. Having more workers available is always in our favour because we are reliant on staff . . . and we are seeing more Kiwis, there's no doubt about that," he said.

About 200kg of cherries were being picked from the Cromwell property daily.

That total would increase as the season progressed.

"We start picking export cherries in mid-December and over the New Year we should be picking about 35 tonnes a day," Mr Jones said.

The crop looked good and was one or two days early, he said.

Earnscleugh fruit grower Harry Roberts said although staff were on hand this year, it was difficult to predict the harvests' success until fruit was "in boxes being sold".

The wholesale price for cherries at this time of year is about $10 per kilogram.

In supermarkets and fruit stores the price is as high as $20 a kilogram.