Jacksons Orchard at Cromwell will start selectively harvesting its crop of Earlise variety cherries today, with the fruit destined for South Island supermarkets.
''It'll be a selective pick to get a few off in time for the weekend, and then we'll start picking them in earnest next week,'' orchard owner-manager Mark Jackson said.
Harvesting was beginning at the same time as last year and the first pick would fetch about $14 a kg, with the price likely to drop to $10 a kg the following week, Mr Jackson said. '
'There's been lots of rain this season, but it can stop now. The last four years in a row, the export cherries have been hit with rain, so we're hoping for better luck this time.''
He will have cherries on the market until mid-January.
''So far, the season's been pretty good and our crop's up on last year. I'd expect there to be plenty of cherries around at Christmas.''
Summerfruit NZ chairman Gary Bennetts, a Roxburgh orchardist, said spring frosts had affected stonefruit crops in the Teviot Valley.
There were too many variables in the mix between now and the main harvest to speculate on the success of the cherry crop, he said.
The aim was for the main harvest to begin around Christmas, suiting consumers, ''and it makes the bank happy, too''.
His main concern was getting enough seasonal staff to pick and pack the fruit.
He had a ''Kiwis-first'' policy when employing staff ''but there just doesn't seem [to be] the students around any more that used to get fruit-picking jobs''.
The Regional Seasonal Employment scheme alleviated some of the pressure, but it was capped at 8000 people a year.
Under that scheme, if those in the horticulture and viticulture industries cannot find enough New Zealand residents willing to harvest or pack fruit, they can apply to hire seasonal employees from the Pacific Islands.
Mr Bennetts said the horticulture industry had expanded in recent years, so more staff were needed.
