Why Australian fruit farmers are facing a harvest headache

A worker displaying young cherries at a cherry farm located in the rural New South Wales state town of Nashdale, some 212kms from Sydney. Photos: AFP

In near-perfect conditions, thanks to abundant rain and healthy trees, Australian fruit grower Michael Cunial's cherry orchard looks set to yield a bumper crop. He has just one problem: the harvest.

Like many farmers in Australia, during harvests he relies on seasonal workers, many of whom have been shut out of the country since its international borders closed in March 2020 to halt the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.