Fruit Industries

Industries desperate for workers urge government to open borders to Pacific

At a media conference in Napier this morning they demanded more help.

Apples are rotting on the ground at many orchards.

Chestergrove Orchards owner Bruce Mitchell said he could not find enough pickers to pick his royal galas.

"The apple crop that you see here represents 10 to 12 months of planning, investment and work and just days before I came to pick it I had 20 pickers sign up, and at induction two pickers turned up, so we went into crisis mode."

He said it was the worst his family had ever seen.