Government Working Holiday And Skilled Migrant Visas Announcement

In regards to the announcement on working holiday and skilled migrant visas made today by Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern, the following statements can be attributed to NZKGI CEO Colin Bond.

While recognising that today’s announcement is important in its support of New Zealand’s post-Covid economic recovery, any impact from working holiday and skilled migrants entering the country in the coming months will be too late for the wider horticulture industry’s export of fruit harvest this season.

Working holiday and skilled migrants entering the country now will not help the summerfruit harvest that has almost finished. It will also have limited benefit for the wine grape and apple harvests that are about to get underway.

Working Holiday Visa holders entering New Zealand could go some way to help to the kiwifruit harvest, however the extent is unknown and the expectation that a large number of Working Holiday Visa holders would quickly enter the country is highly speculative.

The horticulture industry has been signalling the chronic labour shortage for harvest and pruning – exacerbated by Covid and closed borders – to the Government for several months.

While we welcome any policy that helps New Zealand’s food and fibre sector to recover, this policy change is too late to make a significance difference to this season’s fruit harvest.

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