Short supply of backpacker fruit picking jobs in the South Australian Riverland area

[Cerberus1]

Madec - the labour organisation used by the Federal Government to connect job seekers with work on the national harvest trail is reporting that hundreds of backpackers are unable to find work due to the short supply of fruit-picking jobs in the South Australian Riverland.

 

A gap between the citrus harvest and the stone fruit season often means fewer casual jobs in the region, additionally, forecasts of poor seasons for cherries and apricots will likely hamper hamper employment prospects.

 

A spokesman for Madec said there were around 300 backpackers seeking work locally and many more in other parts of Australia.

 

"We still have a number of people who turn up just in the hope that there's some work and our phones continue to ring with people who are around the country and in other harvest regions who are just finding the same thing," he said. "They just don't have the work available up in these regions so they're phoning, they're trying to come down here but unfortunately we just can't help them at the moment."

 

The Riverland is a popular destination for backpackers who are keen to extend their working holiday visas by doing 3 months' work on farms.

 

Philip Sims - who grows crops including peaches, nectarines, sultanas and pistachios in the Riverland area said he is expecting a poor return from apricots this year, after a warmer winter failed to set the fruit.

 

"Normally where I might have 12 people working for me, I might have one other person beyond myself, it's just such a light crop," he said.

 

"There's certainly no chance, regrettably, of employing anyone else."

 

Mr Sims said stone fruit producers across the Riverland were experiencing a bad year and would be hiring fewer labourers than usual.

 

Scott Cameron from Madec said he remained optimistic most of those hoping for work in the Riverland would get something eventually.

He said it was easier for locals wanting seasonal work to bide their time than for backpackers on limited visas.

"As far as our backpackers go, yeah there's probably a little bit of a reason for some concern," he said.

[tingtongman]

Yes there are a lot of backpackers in my city and work is getting a bit hard to find. Another bad thing about too many backpackers is that wages are getting lowered and in some cases people will only give you food and accommodation in return for 6-8 hours of work a day.