Kumara supplies drop while prices peak

Kumara farmers have hit their worst supply shortage to date and growers are blaming millennials and a cold spring.

Delta Produce oversees almost half of NZ’s kumara growers in Northland. Its general manager Lochy Wilson said this was the worst kumara shortage he had seen in 19 years and farmers were struggling.

He said one grower spent $100,000 a week, for three weeks, to pay 120 staff to hand pick kumara because the harvesting tractors could not be pulled through the mud. But those willing to pay $8.18 per kilo will be able to for the rest of the year.

Farmers’ crops produced 40 per cent fewer vegetables this year compared to last year, but the problem came well before recent heavy rainfall and flooding, Wilson said. A cold, dry spring hindered the growth of the root vegetable that likes tropical conditions. Then came the rain, making harvesting operations more difficult.

He said all of the farms were located in Dargaville or Kaitaia, so when bad weather hit, all of the supply was affected. Fresh kumara could not be imported because it is grown in soil and deemed a biosecurity threat. If NZ growers were short, it was game over, Wilson said. But Wilson said supermarkets would not run out. Wilson said diet trends made kumara a fashionable food among millennials.

‘‘Those willing to pay $8.18 per kilo for a sweet potato will be able to. ’’

Lochy Wilson