Rain hits vege supplies

Persistent rain in the North Island has affected harvesting and planting schedules and is causing vegetable shortages and quality issues, say growers. Chief executive of vegetable grower LeaderBrand, Richard Burke, said Gisborne normally had a long, dry summer and the firm’s growers tended to worry about water shortages. But this year they had double the amount of rain they expected, Burke said. This created wet paddocks creating difficulties for the tractors that harvested or planted vegetables. The weather did not destroy crops but simply delayed normal plant and harvest times. A Countdown spokesperson said the weather had affected supplies of spinach and red kumara in particular.