Waikato blueberry grower Dan Peach is predicting that losses from a severe frost - that wiped out entire blueberry orchards in the region this month - could reach $25 million. Most Waikato growers lost 90 percent of their blueberry production. Some lost half their crop. Other producers in the region were also hit by the cold snap this month, which affected asparagus and strawberry cultivation as well.
Peach: "For some growers, that's how they put food on the table and they're having to pivot and think about what else they can do, what skills they've got, what other part time jobs, what they used to do.”
Also, the effects of the frost could leave as many as 400 growers and seasonal fruit pickers without work for the next few months. The harvest season runs until March or April.
Source: rnz.co.nz