Hawke’s Bay vegetable growers have a report in one hand and a deadline in the other.
PHOTO: Drumpeel Farms co-owner Hugh Ritchie has supplied McCain with vegetables for decades. His farm harvested the last crop of carrots for processing by McCain in Hawke’s Bay. Photo courtesy of Alexa Cook.
An independent study has found there is still a market, at home and overseas, for vegetables grown and processed in the region. Now growers want the incoming Government to back the next stage of work before a second season slips away.
The findings land three months after growers were forced to pull their bid to buy the former McCain processing plant in Hastings, and just days out from Saturday’s general election.
Not the old McCain model
Grower spokesperson Hew Dalrymple says the findings give growers fresh momentum and a clearer direction.
“We said back in July that we weren’t giving up, and we haven’t. Having to withdraw our offer to purchase the McCain facility was a setback, but it hasn’t diminished our determination,” he says.
“The future may look quite different from the large-scale processing operation we had before, and that’s something we’re keen to explore.”
The study is blunt about the old way of doing things. Going toe to toe with cheaper imported vegetables through traditional large-scale processing would be tough. The opportunity sits higher up the value chain, in speciality food markets and selected exports.
The clock is ticking
And this is where it gets urgent.
“Time is not on our side. We’ve already lost one season. If we don’t know by mid-2027 whether there is a viable way to process our crops, growers will have to make other decisions, and the skills, specialist equipment and land we’ve built up will be very hard to get back,” Hew says.
Growers are asking the incoming Government to back Stage 2: market validation and commercial testing of the most promising options. Hew says growers are prepared to put their own shoulder to that work and want a practical partnership with Wellington to match it.
Bigger than the Bay
Fellow grower Hugh Ritchie says the stakes go well beyond the region’s paddocks.
“New Zealanders want to be able to buy and eat vegetables grown here at home. This isn’t just about Hawke’s Bay growers. It’s also about food security, supporting New Zealand jobs and making sure we don’t become increasingly dependent on imported food,” he says.
A regional survey sent to all political parties ahead of the election has drawn early responses supporting domestic food production and keeping processing capability in New Zealand.
The region’s mayors are on board too. Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Will Foley says when processing capacity goes, the impact is felt well beyond the growers themselves.
Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum says generations of local families have built their livelihoods around producing and processing food.
“Once those skills and infrastructure are lost, they are very difficult to rebuild,” she says.
The growers have done the homework. Whether the next Government turns up for Stage 2 could decide whether Hawke’s Bay keeps a processing industry, or just a lot of very good soil.
