Thirsty vines Summer girdling Compost teas Organic marketing The ...

Recommendations

Info

the only available option will be working holiday makers and that there will not be enough of these workers to meet the demand. It was interesting to note that many participants thought that the answer to reducing the seasonal labour shortage was not recruiting and attracting more workers to the area. Three of the participants noted that better workplace practices are needed, and that the focus should be on effectiveness and effi ciency rather than cutting costs. Technology and innovation were seen by four participants as playing a role in the future, especially in packhouses. Streamlining work practices and technological advances can help to reduce the number of workers needed and therefore reduce the severity of the seasonal labour shortage. Although, as one grower summed it up, “there is no incentive at the moment to use technology due to the low price of labour.” CONCLUSION The study found that there was a high reliance on backpackers and migrants not only during harvest season but also year round. This is a clear indication of how severe the labour shortage is. These results support the literature that foreign workers make up a signifi cant portion of the workforce, especially in areas that are experiencing skill or labour shortages. The overall perception of the RSE is that it is a step in the right direction but it has some problems which need to be addressed. While the concern that the RSE legislation will increase costs and responsibilities for employers is justifi ed, employers can no longer expect workers to come to them, with the low levels of unemployment and high skill shortages that New Zealand is currently experiencing. A combination of a good reputation as an organisation and long term strategic planning is needed to attract both local and foreign staff. As one of the participants put it “this is a wakeup call for the industry.” Times have changed and the industry must move forward. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author wishes to thank all those who willingly gave up their time to participate in this study. Also Chris Gazley, Shane Max, and Todd Bridgman. This project was undertaken as a requirement for the completion of Bachelor of Commerce and Administration Honours (BCA Hons) at Victoria University. ■ Seasonal labour is particularly important for harvesting and packing operations. Kiwifruit Plants ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY June/August 2008 SEASON HETHERDALE NURSERIES PO Box 212, 50 Tuapiro Rd, Katikati P: 07 549 0848 F: 07 549 0822 E: hetherdale@xtra.co.nz Grafted Plants on Bruno Rootstock • Zespri TM Gold: Hort 16A; (CK2), (CK3) Males • Hayward Green: Kramer Females; M56; Chieftain Males Rootstock (Excellent stock available) • Bruno 1 year and 2 year • Kaimai ORDER NOW FOR DELIVERY September 2008/March 2009 SEASON Orchard Ready Micropropagated Plants in PB10 Bags • Zespri Gold: Hort 16A; CK2, CK3 Males • Hayward Green: Kramer Females; M56; Chieftain Males SUPPLIERS OF PLANTS TO THE KIWIFRUIT INDUSTRY FOR OVER TWENTY- FIVE YEARS & LICENSED PROPAGATORS FOR ZESPRI TM NZ KIWIFRUIT JOURNAL JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2008 37
38 Organic O Marketing 2007 Tom McLaughlin - ZESPRI ORGANIC Category Manager MARKET PERFORMANCE STRONG ZESPRI ORGANIC Kiwifruit performed rather well in the markets this season and if it wasn’t for the stubbornly high New Zealand dollar, grower returns would have looked considerably better. All categories had volume increases but organics certainly had their work cut out with a massive 25 per cent increase in volume and a considerably smaller size profi le over 2006. PRICE PREMIUMS ACHIEVED ZESPRI ORGANIC continues to receive price premiums in all markets. Taking account of the smaller profi le, organic price premiums over conventional ranged from 13 per cent in Japan, 18 per cent in Europe, 30 per cent in Korea and to 50 per cent in the US. ZESPRI’s ORGANIC category manager Tom McLaughlin said he was very pleased with the premiums. “Our markets have worked hard for these premiums. ZESPRI Kiwifruit is already priced at a premium so it’s a tough task to convince customers to pay an additional premium for ZESPRI ORGANIC.” TRADITIONAL EUROPEAN MARKETS SHINE Europe got off to a fl ying start in 2007 with 60,000 TE’s shipped in week 15, a record early organic shipment to this destination. “The early shipment to Europe meant 60,000 trays were sold at the beginning and not at the end of the season where extra costs are incurred. “It was an excellent start and one we must repeat in 2008 to secure that early shelf space,” says Tom. Edeka Organic promotion Germany Port International Wholesale market Hamburg, Germany Our European markets managed some impressive increases in sales volumes to shift the larger crop. This included Austria up 250 per cent, Sweden up 44 per cent, Germany up 32 per cent, France up 40 per cent, United Kingdom up 26 per cent, and Italy up 15 per cent. ZESPRI market managers were happy to see signifi cant growth coming from the traditionally strong organic nations, particularly from some of those countries where support had waned in recent years. Bert Barmans, ZESPRI Europe Sales Manager was “very
Page 1 and 2: Thirsty vines Summer girdling Compo
Page 3 and 4: 4 contributors BILL SNELGAR Bill Sn
Page 5 and 6: 6 GRANT THORP Dr Grant Thorp is a H
Page 7 and 8: 8 Statistic December January Februa
Page 9 and 10: 10 Fruit dry matter (%) Soluble sol
Page 11 and 12: 12 SUMMARY We now have an indicatio
Page 13 and 14: 14 Orchard Control Dry matter (%) C
Page 15 and 16: 16 Operators should also avoid cutt
Page 17 and 18: Technical Review Advertisement / Ad
Page 19 and 20: 20 Gearing up ‘Hort16A’ Returns
Page 21 and 22: 22 Table 2. Maturity attributes of
Page 23 and 24: 24 Active fungal biomass (ug/g) Fig
Page 25 and 26: 26 Hayward’s first priority: Shoo
Page 27 and 28: 28 regrowth developed larger leaves
Page 29 and 30: 30 Location Soil % C % N C:N Nelson
Page 31 and 32: 32 Mineral N (mg/kg) Figure 2. Chan
Page 33 and 34: 34 Resolving labour shortages - Is
Page 35: 36 Perceptions of the RSE Advantage
Page 39 and 40: 40 Customers are Impressed with tas
Page 41 and 42: 42 The Th flavour fl seesaw: balanc
Page 43 and 44: 44 aroma compounds. Dry Matter is a
Page 45 and 46: 46 Producing country On Orchard Pos
Page 47 and 48: 48 optimise their current managemen
Page 49 and 50: 50 Figure 2: Levels of actinidin en
Page 51 and 52: 52 NZKGI making its pledge in isola
Page 53 and 54: 54 Image provided by the NOAA/ESRL
Page 55 and 56: 56 Sea Surface temperature anomaly
Page 57 and 58: 58 The Taste ZESPRI TM programme wa
Page 59 and 60: 60 were either completely unconvinc
Page 61: 62 Orchard productivity remains a k

Thirsty vines Summer girdling Compost teas Organic marketing The ...

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?