MORE than 1000 Sunraysia visa-holders and as many as a hundred farms have been affected by the COVID-19 cross-border ban, leaving a dramatic shortfall within the NSW citrus sector, Citrus Australia says.

Citrus Australia chief executive Nathan Hancock commented on the restriction after NSW Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall this week backed NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian's decision to ban seasonal workers travelling from Mildura to NSW to pick citrus fruit.