Backpacker shortage creates jobs boom amid recession

As unemployment surges towards 10 per cent, Vitalharvest’s managing director David Schwartz says there are jobs to be found.

Regional manager of Berry Exchange Rob King at the Walkamin blueberry farm PICTURE: ANNA ROGERS

The rains have come and dams are full, but agribusiness landlord ­Vitalharvest is now facing a drought of a different kind as COVID-19-enforced travel bans dry up the supply of backpacker workers.

Vitalharvest managing director David Schwartz said travel bans had led to labour shortages across farms, with the number of backpacker workers down about 100,000.

As unemployment is forecast to soar to 9.25 per cent by Christmas, Mr Schwartz urged people to consider a treechange, saying the fall in backpackers meant there was plenty of work around.

“Labour has been the biggest issue through COVID. A lot of the work is done by backpackers and there are normally about 170,000 backpackers around and currently there are about 70,000, so getting workers is going to be an issue,” Mr Schwartz said.

“We hope that some of the local people will come and assist us on the farms. There are also going to be a lot of people unemployed and I would be encouraging them to go out and talk to people like Costa Group.

“I don’t think it’s an insurmountable problem.”

The company leases 100 per cent of its assets to listed fruit and vegetable grower and wholesaler Costa Group. Mr Schwartz said during the peak harvest at the group’s berry farm at Corindi on the NSW north coast, the ­company employed about 1600 workers.

“These are backpackers,” he said. “They go up and find accommodation and work and they do earn good money and I’m sure there are going to be jobs around.”

The labour shortage comes as Costa Group said it had recovered from extreme weather, which had wiped about $15m off its half-year earnings.

Mr Schwartz said the company had expanded its dam at Corindi to hold 900 megalitres of water — the equivalent of 360 Olympic-sized swimming pools — which would help shield the farm against dry weather in the future.

“The dam is full and the beauty is you have 900 megalitres of water and that’s enough to supply them for the whole year,” he said.

“Plus we are putting a lot more of the plants into substrate, putting them into tunnels — you will start getting much more of a controlled environment, and we are feeling a lot better with what the prospects are going forward.”

Vitalharvest’s rental income fell 6.5 per cent to $14.3m in the year to June 30. Most of the decrease was in variable rent, which dived 30.9 per cent, with base rent rising 12.9 per cent to $9.6m.

“Continued demand from export markets for quality agricultural products will drive future performance. Improvement in climatic conditions may have a positive influence on production. Also, increasing maturity of the citrus-planted area should support a natural increase in yields over the period,” Mr Schwartz said.

Vitalharvest will pay a final distribution of 1.5c a unit, bringing this year’s total payout to 4.75c a unit, on September 30.