Source: Radio New Zealand
McCain Foods has announced it will close its Hastings processing plant. Roberto Machado Noa
Industry groups and local government leaders are calling for the resurrection of a Buy Kiwi Made campaign as alarms sound over new job losses and factory closures.
McCain Foods announced on Tuesday it would close its Hastings processing plant weeks after Watties proposed cuts and closures in Hastings, Dunedin, Auckland and Christchurch.
Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley said the news came as shock, and he did not know how many people were affected.
But once factory workers and those across the supply chain were factored in, it would number in the hundreds, he said.
Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley. Supplied
“If you think of all the contractors that grow the crops, harvest the crops, the trucking companies, the logistics of moving the crops from farm to factories and from there to our supermarkets, you’d be talking about hundreds and hundreds of people impacted. Specifically losing their jobs, perhaps not as many on day one, but the longer term impact we’ll be getting into the hundreds, if not a thousand across Hawke’s Bay.”
Vegetable growing had played a huge role in Hawke’s Bay, including being the home of Watties, which was founded in Hastings in 1934.
The mayor wanted to see a discussion at a national level about the closures and their causes.
“What can we do to address some of these issues and help out the businesses that are still there, because otherwise we’re just going to see this happen again and again.”
Energy and production costs and inflation would all have played a part in the decision, he said.
“A lot of companies and industries affected by Cyclone Gabrielle citied concerns back then about the cost of energy making them contemplate not rebuilding their businesses, as well as the cost of production and such high inflation across the board.”
Labour leader Chris Hipkins visits the Watties factory in Napier while on the campaign trail in September 2023. RNZ / Samuel Rillstone
Foley was keen to see more education and information about the importance of buying New Zealand-made, even if it meant paying a little extra.
“We’re not just losing the more expensive product, we’re losing the whole supply chain and employment and logistics and everything. We might not notice the change overnight, but we’ll notice it eventually as we lose more and more.
“Educating people around buying New Zealand-made and the benefits over and above just buying that product, what it gives to New Zealand Inc is definitely something that should be highlighted and be made more aware to the population after decisions like this,” he said.
The closure would hasten a move away from farming for some, especially those already considering retirement.
Others might consider converting to other types of farming, such as dairy, sheep and beef or apples, while others would look at subdividing for housing – though it would be better to keep productive land for food production, Foley said.
Current issues around fuel supply served as a stark reminder of supply chain vulnerabilities and food security challenges.
“It could be no different with food if similar things happen and supply chains get impacted and ships don’t arrive. We certainly need to try and preserve what we’ve got already and what we produce in this country.”
Buy NZ Made was first launched in the late 1980s with the slogan “Buy NZ Made & Keep Your Country Working”, though organised campaigns to encourage shoppers to buy local date back to the turn of last century.
The concept recieved a boost as part of the co-operation agreement between the Greens and Labour in 2005, after the Green Party negotiated $11.5 million towards a Buy Kiwi Made campaign, with former Green co-leader Rod Donald as spokesperson. After his death, Green MP Sue Bradford led the programme, which included a marketing push and increased use of New Zealand-made products in government procurement.
The National government suspended the programme in 2008 but BusinessNZ continued to run the parallel Buy NZ Made campaign.
Two of the Buy NZ Made logos. Buy NZ Made
Process Vegetables New Zealand chair David Hadfield said New Zealand consumers needed to buy locally grown produce.
“Otherwise they’re going to wake up one day and there won’t be any and then we’ll be relying on other countries to supply us and we don’t know when the next Covid or a bigger conflict will happen and the boats aren’t coming here with product on board.
“We’re learning in a pretty drastic way with fuel at the moment, aren’t we, about what happens when we have to bring it all in?”
While local products could be more expensive, the bulk of the profit was made after vegetables left the processor, he said.
“The grower is getting about 10 percent of what a packet of peas sells for.”
He wanted a closer look at supermarket margins – which differed by department – as well as the role of distribution centres.
“New Zealanders definitely need to be looking at buying New Zealand grown,” Hadfield said, and should pay close attention to labelling.
“Look at where it’s growing, not where it’s packaged, because there’s quite a bit of stuff coming into the country in bulk and then getting packaged to you,” he said.
It was impossible for New Zealanders to compete with countries where growers were subsidised or where pay and safety regulations were very low, Hadfield said.
The government also needed to investigate imported produce and whether there may be cases of dumping.
“I don’t know the government’s done anything through the Commerce Commission or anybody else to look at that.”
Process Vegetables New Zealand chair David Hadfield wanted a closer look at supermarket margins. RNZ / Nick Monro
In early March, Watties proposed closing factories in Auckland, Dunedin and Christchurch, and shutting down processing lines at one of its Hastings factories.
The move would see 350 workers made redundant, 220 suppliers affected and the end of Wattie’s frozen vegetables, Gregg’s coffee and other household names.
Submissions on the proposal close this week.
In September, Wattie’s reduced its Hawke’s Bay peach production, cutting the contracts of some suppliers in the face of what it claimed was dumping from cheaper markets.
An investigation later found Chinese company J&G International Co. Ltd had been dumping peaches, causing “material injury to the New Zealand industry”.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
