Horticulture labour shortages begin to ease

New figures from the Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) indicate workforce pressures in Australia’s horticultural industry are beginning to ease with a 23 per cent drop in the number of farmers reporting difficulty in recruiting workers.

The ABARES report, based on a survey of over 2,000 horticulture farms across Australia, also found just 15 per cent of farms experienced ‘lots of difficulty’ in recruiting workers, down from 41 per cent in 2021/22.

The monthly average of workers used by horticulture farms increased by around 1,500 people, rising from 116,900 in 2021/22 to 118,400 workers in 2022/23. This rise has broken a trend of consecutive falls in the number of workers used over the preceding 3 years under the previous Coalition Government.

While labour demand in horticulture is seasonal, peak labour use also rose by 4 per cent, or around 5,100 workers, to a peak of 130,300 workers in 2022/23.

The survey data has also found horticulture farmers are sourcing alternative methods to boost productivity, with approximately 40 per cent reporting a pivot to more efficient machinery, like fruit picking machines, to reduce their demand for labour in 2022/23.

Further information on the survey results, including the full ABARES report, can be found here.

Quotes attributable to the Assistant Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Anthony Chisholm:

“Each time I’m out on the road meeting with producers they explain to me how hard it’s been to attract skilled workers on their farms, so while these figures show we’re turning a corner, we’re not out of the woods yet.

“Our government is committed to doing all we can to ease the workforce pressures farmers are experiencing by bringing employers, industry groups and unions together to find new ways to attract, train and retain the workers our sector needs.

“Aussie producers have always led the way when it comes to the uptake of new AgTech solutions, so it’s great to see that approximately 40 per cent of producers surveyed are investing in new tech solutions to not only solve workforce issues, but increase productivity at the same time.”