A new report by ABARES predicts consumers will be paying for the shortfall of harvest workers this season, with prices for fruit and vegetables expected to spike.
Key points:
- ABARES report finds veg and fruit production could fall by two and 17 per cent respectively, with farm labour shortages
- The report says the resulting higher prices will be felt until the 2021-2022 harvest season
- Consumers are expected to stick to current buying patterns, despite the price rise
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) predicts the shortage of overseas harvest workers will result in a drop in fruit production by as much as 17 per cent and vegetable production is tipped to drop by about 2 per cent. And that was not good news for consumers — with prices set to rise by between seven and 29 per cent. The ABARES report said a large fall in the supply of overseas workers was expected to reduce the supply of horticultural produce until the 2021–2022 peak harvest season, with “no additional backpackers expected”.
Consumers will pay
ABARES said while the industry was set to see a dip in supply due to the worker shortage, it was not expecting the consumer to avoid paying higher amounts for produce.
“Most household purchases of fresh produce generally make up only a small share of household budgets and this provides more scope to pay higher prices for these products,” the report said.
“These characteristics of demand for fresh produce in Australia often mean variations in local supply lead to large short term swings in prices. “Broccoli provides a good example of this phenomenon. Its price regularly cycles between about $4/kilogram and about $7/kg in southern states, depending on crop cycles and the source location.” National Farmers Federation Horticulture Council executive officer Tyson Cattle said industry has not been able to crack the domestic worker market despite cash incentives from government.
Under a Federal Relocation Assistance package, $6,000 is available to Australians to move to regional areas to take up work. In addition, $2,500 is available as cash incentives from the Victorian Government to encourage job seekers to take up seasonal work. “We think that the incentives are fairly generous, there’s plenty of money available, but it’s always been a really hard one for industry to crack in the domestic audience,” Mr Cattle said.
“It’s hard work, its tough work and that is why industry has turned its focus to our Pacific neighbours as a real solution and trying to ramp up [the Federal Government’s] Pacific Workers Program and Pacific Labour Scheme.”
Harvest labour still central to AUSVEG advocacy in 2021
- Harvest labour has continued to be the major industry issue facing growers this year. AUSVEG last week travelled to Canberra to meet with Federal Departments as well as meet with some politicians on the issue.
- AUSVEG met with new Shadow Agriculture Minister Julie Collins and highlighted the concerns regarding labour shortages in the sector, as well as the importance of a well-resourced biosecurity sector.
- AUSVEG also met with the office of New Minister for International Development and Pacific Nations, Zed Seselja, to discuss ways to continue to improve the Seasonal Worker Programme and Pacific Labour Scheme.
Unfortunately, flights for SWP/PLS workers remain slow as industry battles with State processes as well as limited quarantine facilities. This is having an ongoing impact on the sector as SWP/PLS arrivals are not keeping pace with exiting backpackers. This will continue to be an issue and AUSVEG is working with industry colleagues and all levels of government to look for solutions to bring workers into the country and at scale.
National Lost Crop Register
The National Lost Crop Register is still available and growers are urged to log their losses in the register to assist with ongoing advocacy efforts. The register is so far showing $50 million worth of losses from just 71 growers nationally. To fill in the register see here.
HILA Review
While harvest labour has been a focus, the Horticulture Industry Labour Agreement (HILA) has now been operational for 12 months. The HILA was created in 2020 and allows growers to access skilled and semi-skilled workers from anywhere in the world for 31 horticulture occupations.
Through AUSVEG’s work in negotiating the agreement, it has a 12-month review built into it. AUSVEG will seek improvements to the HILA to better assist growers to be able to access the workforce they so desperately need. If growers have any feedback on the HILA, they are encouraged to reach out to AUSVEG. To view the HILA and other visa options available to growers see here.
