Fruit picking jobs increasingly being taken up by backpackers

The work is hard, and the days can be long. 

But there’s jobs to be done all year round. 

Tom Elliott found out why more young Australians struggling to find work won’t be enticed to take up fruit picking.

Redbelly Citrus director Vito Mancini said backpackers visiting the area are the ones taking up the task in Griffith, New South Wales.

‘During our peak production times, it’s always a difficult time for us, trying to get people to do that laborious work,’ he said.

‘Being outdoors picking fruit may not be the most comfortable job for some.

‘Increasingly over the last few years we’ve been getting a lot of backpackers coming through the region and taking on that sort of work.’

Click PLAY to hear from Vito Mancini on 3AW Drive: