Summerfruit NZ welcomes the news that Working Holiday visa holders will soon start arriving in the country. About 19,500 people offshore held a Working Holiday visa prior to Covid-19 but were unable to use it because of our border restrictions. These people can now apply and will need to start using their 12-month visas within the next six months.
All Working Holiday Schemes will be reopened by September 13 this year, hopefully meaning that people on working holidays will start to arrive in time for next summer. Before Covid-19, around 50,000 working holidaymakers came to New Zealand each year, dropping to below 5,000 during the border closures. While the re-opening of the Working Holiday Scheme didn’t come early enough for the harvest season that has just finished, it will provide orchards and packhouses with some reassurance for next year's harvest.
Other positive news was last week’s announcement that the Government is extending the Maintaining International Air Connectivity (MIAC) scheme until the end of 31 March 2023. This scheme was due to finish at the end of this month but has been pushed out a year to protect New Zealand’s links with the rest of the world and keep trade flowing. Since May 2020, this scheme has supported more than 12,300 flights carrying over 235,000 tonnes of airfreight with a trade value of $18.8 billion. The extension of this scheme for a further year will continue to support the export of summerfruit to our overseas markets.