12,029 individuals worked in the Vegetables industry group across 2021, with 14% of these being employers or self-employed. Over half (54%) of those working in the Vegetable industries in 2021 worked in Outdoor Vegetable Growing, 19% worked in Fruit and Vegetable Retailing, 19% in Under Cover Vegetable Growing, and 7% in Mushroom Growing.
People who identify as Asian make up a large part of the workforce of the Vegetable industries, especially in Mushroom Growing and Fruit and Vegetable Retailing. A relatively high percentage of Pacific peoples work in Under Cover and Outdoor Vegetable Growing, and Māori make up almost one quarter of the Outdoor Vegetable Growing workforce. The Fruit and Vegetable Retailing and Outdoor Vegetable Growing workforces are younger on average than the Mushroom Growing and Under Cover Vegetable Growing workforces, with Mushroom Growing having the oldest age profile across the Vegetable Growing industries.
Auckland is a key region for Under Cover Vegetable Growing, Outdoor Vegetable Growing and Fruit and Vegetable Retailing, whereas Canterbury is the key region for Mushroom Growing.
There are clear seasonal peaks in the count of employees working in the vegetable growing industries. The monthly count of employees working in Outdoor Vegetable Growing is highest from December through to March and is lowest in July. The count of employees for Under Cover Vegetable Growing peaks sharply in December and is lowest from June through to September. Fruit and Vegetable Retailing employee counts also peak in December. There are no observable seasonal patterns in employee counts for Mushroom Growing.
Seasonal peaks in Fruit and Vegetable Retailing have been declining over the past couple of years, while the seasonal peak for Under Cover Vegetable Growing declined across the 2021/22 season compared to the previous season.