With the welcome arrival of Spring and longer lighter days, I hope that things are progressing well on orchard. A reminder that Summerfruit NZ’s export registration has now opened. Growers, packhouses, and exporters can register for export via the secure portal’s online registration system.
Ronald Vermeulen, a technical horticultural consultant based in the Netherlands, recently presented on different growing techniques to Summerfruit NZ members in Hawkes Bay, Blenheim and Central Otago. The visits were very well attended in all the regions, and I’ve received good feedback from a number of you about Ronald’s presentation. Ronald told me that he enjoyed meeting with New Zealand growers and hopes he’s provided information about different ways of producing cherries with a focus on production, quality, and better returns to the growers.
Negotiations are continuing to support an increase to the RSE cap for the 2022-2023 season. The industry’s request to increase the cap to 19,000 is under consideration by the new Minister of Immigration, Michael Wood. Industry (the horticulture and viticulture CE Collective), unions, and government are in Tripartite discussions as part of this process. We are discussing only those issues that we have a mandate to discuss on the industry’s behalf. RSE employers are being kept informed via direct communications from HortNZ.
Summerfruit NZ welcomes the recent news that Immigration NZ has extended current Working Holiday Visas for a further six months.
I’m also excited to announce the dates for next year’s Summerfruit NZ conference – it will be held in Queenstown on 7-8 June 2023. Keep an eye on our website for details to come.