Hawke’s Bay fruit growers have told Prime Minister Chris Hipkins most of their crops are uninsured, asking for significant financial support following Cyclone Gabrielle. Hipkins visited the region to see first-hand the impact the cyclone was having on growers. When Hipkins asked local grower and Bostock NZ owner John Bostock about insurance coverage, Bostock claimed “this type of event” was non-insurable for orchard crops. “Our machinery and our sheds are all insured, but crops for this type of event are non-insurable. We can insure for hail, but that is very expensive and most of us don’t.”
Other growers added that it applied not just to apples, but other crops like kiwifruit, which were also non-insurable for this kind of disaster. They claim that more government support was required for growers, many of which “put their heart and soul into their annual growing”.
Cost of some vegetables skyrocket after cyclone
The price of some vegetables like sweet potato (kumara) and broccoli have doubled since Cyclone Gabrielle swept through New Zealand and decimated vast areas of crops. Customers should get used to the higher prices, which could linger until after next year's harvests, some supermarkets say.
The vast majority of New Zealand's kūmara stock came from Northland's Kaipara District, which experienced severe flooding in the cyclone. Rain had also impacted the quality and shelf life of green vegetables like lettuce, rocket, and cauliflower.
Source - https://www.freshplaza.com
