Hawke's Bay growers are calling for an urgent pause on any moves to dismantle machinery at the McCain food processing plant ahead of shutting down in January as some continue to explore how the industry could be salvaged in the region.
The company's confirmed to 1News several parties have expressed interest in it’s frozen vegetables site which processes more than 50,000 tones of vegetables annually.
The Hawke's Bay's Heretaunga plains are well known for having some of the most fertile and versatile soils for growing food, the area supports more than 50% of the total New Zealand harvest of various fruits, grapes, and vegetables.
Drumpeel Farms co-owner Hugh Ritchie has supplied McCain with vegetables for decades. His farm recently harvested the last crop of carrots for processing by McCain in Hawke's Bay.
Like many other growers, specialised harvesting machinery are now collecting cobwebs with no use in sight. But some growers are determined to find an industry solution.
“The next phase, once you've got over the initial shock, [is to ask] is there an opportunity to salvage or retain, hold the industry in the province?” Ritchie said.
He’s been to the Hastings McCain factory and to Japan, researching the market.
“Contrary to many views, the site has actually been maintained and looked after very well, there's actually some brand new equipment that's never been used in it,” Ritchie said.
“We've got to be realistic that potential tonnage wont be the same first up, it will be a new approach, it'll be a different road to market, we don't know what that looks like but there's certainly suggestion that packaging, especially for export might be in market rather than here on site and it might be do we supply other suppliers rather than have a brand ourselves. i think that's all got to be determined.”
Menwhile, he's calling on McCain to hold off dismantling machinery to allow time to put together a feasibility study.
“Everyday that goes by something else is being pulled apart is another day or two days that you have to put it back together so that's all costs, or basically reducing value, so it's pretty urgent,” Ritchie said.
“At the moment, we are trying to safeguard the opportunity to go forward with this and if the plant and equipment disappears, that makes setting up even harder, so certainly in the short term if we could get some sort of moratorium or delay in some of dismantling that gives the opportunity to come up with a package to enable the industry to remain in Hawke's Bay.”
In a statement, McCain said there was potential interest in the plant and its equipment from several parties, including growers, but the company wouldn't be drawn on further details as there are ongoing commercial discussions.
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Will Foley said councils and growers were working together at pace.
“There's some tight timelines here to salvage the equipment particularly the harvesting equipment and the plant in the factory,” he said.
“We would love it if some of those businesses involved can pause a bit and give us a bit of time to get that work done and have so we've all got the confidence that we can go ahead with this,”
“it is really a team effort and as a council we're trying to give the growers as much support as we can because it's not just directly impacting them, it's the whole local economy and sort of almost food security keeping New Zealand growing food on the shelves so we're doing what we can and a lot of that involves talking to government and politicians down in Wellington.”
Minister Todd McClay said he was open to realistic options.
“The very first thing we have to do is to see what a feasibility study would show us and then have a clear understanding of a business case. I've asked the ministry to work very quickly on this because we don't have a lot of time. If there is feasibility we should sit down and talk,” McClay said.
SHARE ME