New Zealand's harvests run on seasonal crews, and every crew starts with paperwork.
$9.5 billion in exports
Horticulture exports, including wine, are forecast at $9.5 billion for the year to June 2026.
Horticulture exports, $9.5 billion
| Crop | Exports | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Kiwifruit | $4.8b | 50% |
| Wine | $2.1b | 22% |
| Apples and pears | $1.3b | 14% |
| Other crops | $1.3b | 14% |
- Kiwifruit, $4.8 billion. Zespri's global fruit sales reached $5.9 billion last season. At its peak, the harvest needs more than 20,000 seasonal workers, around 16,000 of them in the Bay of Plenty.
- Wine, $2.1 billion. Vintage crews work through Marlborough, Hawke's Bay and Central Otago, then pruning gangs take over for winter.
- Apples and pears, $1.3 billion. Most of the crop is picked in Hawke's Bay, Nelson and Central Otago.
- Avocados and cherries. These are smaller crops, but they have short, busy peaks in the Bay of Plenty, Northland and Central Otago.
On top of local crews, the RSE scheme allows up to 20,750 workers from the Pacific each season.
| Who | Workers |
|---|---|
| The whole industry, at the summer peak | Up to 75,000 |
| The kiwifruit harvest, at its peak | More than 20,000 |
| Of those, in the Bay of Plenty | Around 16,000 |
| RSE workers from the Pacific, each season | Up to 20,750 |
One peak after another
- Summer. Cherries in Central Otago, then apples and pears from February.
- Autumn. Vintage in the vineyards, and the kiwifruit harvest from March.
- Winter. Pruning in orchards and vineyards, while packhouses finish the kiwifruit.
- Spring. The avocado harvest in the Bay of Plenty and Northland.
| Crop | Summer | Autumn | Winter | Spring |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherries | Harvest | |||
| Apples and pears | Harvest | |||
| Wine | Vintage | Pruning | ||
| Kiwifruit | Harvest | Packing | ||
| Avocados | Harvest |
Each crop peaks at a different time, so the paperwork never really stops.
Contractors often follow the work from crop to crop. Set up a template for your crop once, and the right paperwork is always ready to go for the next season.
Every crop, the same forms
Whether you're hiring a picker, a packer or a cellar hand, every new hire signs pretty much the same documents.
- An employment agreement with their role, start date and pay.
- A tax code declaration, so payroll is right from week one.
- A health and safety induction, signed before their first shift.
- An accommodation agreement for anyone in worker housing.
Set these up once as a template, and every new crew after that is just a few clicks.
Four ways through the peak
- Bulk send to your whole crew list in one go, and each person gets their own package. Available on Business and up.
- Sign in person at induction on a supervisor's tablet. Available on every plan, including Free.
- Workflows choose the right documents from each worker's answers, like whether they're an employee or a contractor, new or returning, and staying on site. Available on Business and Enterprise.
- Dynamic documents tailor one agreement to each person's role and shift. Available on Enterprise.
Workers sign from a link on their own phone, with no account needed. You can see who still needs to sign and remind them all at once.
Our post on Bay of Plenty packhouses walks through a peak week step by step.
Ready for next season
Your templates carry over, so next season starts with this season's paperwork already set up. Every signed package keeps its PDF, audit trail and certificate of completion, sealed so any later edit shows.
Create an account and build your template before the peak. The seasonal work and pricing pages cover the rest.
Want a hand? Book a demo and we'll walk your team through it.
