Fruit and Veg Risk Rotting in Australia on Second Covid-19 Wave
Quarantine curbs in Australia have raised fears fruits and vegetables could be left to rot because of a lack of seasonal workers.
(Bloomberg) -- Tighter borders and quarantine curbs amid a fresh wave of Covid-19 cases in Australia have raised fears mangoes, citrus fruit, vegetables and other produce could be left to rot because of a lack of seasonal workers.
Australia this month capped the number of people who can enter the country, to ease pressure on its mandatory hotel quarantine program, after a second wave of cases in Melbourne sparked fears of outbreaks in other cities. New South Wales introduced stricter rules for workers crossing from Victoria, raising concerns about labor shortages in the key growing area spanning the border.
Seasonal workers would be subject to a two-week quarantine if they wanted to cross the border, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said at a press conference Wednesday, as the state seeks to curb its own recent virus clusters. “Anything that is high risk needs to be curtailed,” she said.
Such rules mean ripe produce will be left to rot, Citrus Australia chief executive Nathan Hancock said in a statement, calling for greater clarity surrounding the measures. “There is no justification to ban seasonal workers as they do not pose a greater threat than anyone else working in agriculture.”
In the Northern Territory, the mango harvest will start from mid-August and the industry is expecting a worker shortfall of about 1,500, said Tyson Cattle, spokesman for industry group AUSVEG. From September, labor is needed along the east coast as a wide range of vegetables and berries come into season.
The labor situation is expected to worsen from late 2020 and into 2021 as national borders remain largely closed and the temporary workers gradually return to their home countries, he said. The industry is working with governments to incentivize those workers to stay and to lure Australian workers to the sector, he added.
The federal government is in talks with states and territories to have seasonal workers coming into the country exempt from the cap on international arrival numbers, and to improve workforce mobility across internal borders, Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said on ABC Radio Tuesday.
The government had already allowed some seasonal workers and Pacific Island workers employed in the country to extend their visas by a year to ease labor shortages, he said.
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