Australian farmers produced the identical quantity of fruit and greens final yr as they did in 2019 regardless of worldwide borders being closed and the horticulture business pleading for extra employees, a examine has discovered.
Key factors:
- New analysis has discovered Australian horticulture farm manufacturing remained unchanged, regardless of worldwide border closures
- Unions say farmers have overstated want for worldwide employees
- Agriculture Minister says knowledge exhibits how resilient farmers are however new agriculture visa is required
Research launched as we speak discovered the variety of employees employed on fruit and vegetable farms dropped by eight per cent final yr, however output remained comparatively unchanged.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Useful resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) discovered the variety of employees dropped by 11,000 in 2020-21 in comparison with the yr earlier than.
“Regardless of this, total horticulture output ranges are estimated to have remained comparatively regular, partly attributable to an enchancment in seasonal circumstances,” ABARES government director Jared Greenville mentioned.
“Output has additionally been maintained by way of a variety of variations that many horticulture producers made in response to the diminished availability of abroad employees.”
The analysis, primarily based on farmers surveys, discovered that horticulture farms employed round 135,000 employees throughout 2020-21, together with household, everlasting and contract workers.
ABARES additionally discovered that retail costs for fruit and greens had remained comparatively secure, growing by simply 5 per cent on the try, regardless of distinctive rising circumstances which may sometimes drive oversupply and diminished retail costs.
In September final yr, an industry commissioned report suggested the farm sector would be 26,000 workers short for the summer season harvest as a result of Australia had closed its borders, in response to COVID-19.
Farmers overstated scarcity, unions say
The Australian Staff’ Union mentioned the ABARES findings confirmed business had overstated the employee scarcity.
“This knowledge proves what our union has been saying for years: the significance of short-term migrant employees has been massively overstated by the farming foyer,” AWU nationwide secretary Daniel Walton mentioned.
“COVID compelled farms to get smarter and make use of extra Australians and – lo and behold – not solely did the sky not fall in, productiveness truly elevated.
“The federal government ought to take the trace and inform farmers to strive more durable to make use of Australians on Australian circumstances or increase the usage of established Pacific visas, earlier than throwing open the floodgates with the brand new anything-goes agriculture visa.”
Minister: Australia wants Ag Visa
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud mentioned the ABARES report “spoke volumes in regards to the resilience and initiative of the horticulture business”, which maintained output regardless of the challenges of COVID-19.
Mr Littleproud mentioned Australia nonetheless wanted a brand new visa to recruit abroad employees for farms.
“In line with ABARES, greater than 50 per cent of horticulture farms had difficulties accessing employees over 2020-21. Farmers have been intelligent and resourceful however it can not go on without end,” Mr Littleproud mentioned.
“Left unaddressed, we run the chance of shortages of meals merchandise on our cabinets and that can imply value will increase on the checkout”.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison dedicated to ascertain a brand new agriculture visa, in return for the Nationals support for a free trade agreement with the UK, which eliminated the requirement for British backpackers to work on Australian farms.
Regardless of present bilateral negotiations with 4 nations — Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Cambodia – Australia is to date but to persuade one other nation to enroll to the Agriculture Visa.
Scarcity might have been worse, farmers say
The Nationwide Farmers’ Federation Horticulture council mentioned the ABARES report confirmed a missed alternative for the business to capitalise on constructive seasonal circumstances.
“Had the business been capable of supply the workforce it wanted, and even had pre-pandemic employee numbers, it’s probably we’d have seen important progress within the horticulture sector,” a spokesperson mentioned.
“Sadly as a result of we weren’t capable of entry the workforce the business wanted to capitalise on the excessive yields, it resulted in lots of crops not being picked.”
The Horticulture Council mentioned final yr’s modelling recommended business could possibly be quick as much as 26,000 employees was primarily based on the worst case state of affairs, however the authorities had restarted the Seasonal Employee Program (SWP), which introduced greater than 11,000 employees from the Pacific into Australia throughout the pandemic.
“ABARES indicated the sector was quick about 11,000 employees ultimately, and that’s largely because of the restart of the SWP in addition to the assorted incentive primarily based programmes to draw Australians onto farms,” the Horticultural Council mentioned in a assertion.
ABARES mentioned that in 2020-21 the variety of backpackers employed on farms declined by 26 per cent, and the variety of employees employed on employee schemes from the Pacific fell by 9 per cent.
