Hawke's Bay vegetable growers are looking for new crops after the closure of the McCain plant

The closure of McCain's frozen vegetable processing plant in Hastings has affected around 100 farmers in the region. A local initiative group considered purchasing the enterprise, but the company sold off its processing equipment. Having received government funding of $50,000, agronomists conducted a feasibility study. The report showed that the revival of the previous large-scale production model would not withstand competition due to cheap imports, as well as New Zealand's high energy, labor, and logistics costs. The main threat to cheap market segments remains the ability of foreign companies to import products at significantly lower prices, facilitated by government support and the development of cold chain infrastructure in countries such as China and India.

Experts call the transition to higher-value and specialized products, where New Zealand vegetables can compete on quality and origin rather than cost alone, the most promising direction. As part of the second stage of the study, it is planned to assess the potential of the domestic food service sector, specialized markets, as well as export prospects for frozen peas and value-added products. Producer Sam Reynolds noted that local agronomists need to reorient toward new crops by taking advantage of the region's favorable climatic conditions, and also emphasized the importance of farmers themselves being willing to invest in finding alternative strategies.

Minister Todd McClay stated that the government will consider allocating funds for the next stage of the study by the end of the current year. Maintaining domestic processing capacities can strengthen the country's food security and reduce import dependency. In addition, the region will receive an investment of $3 million to establish a new seed cleaning, processing, and storage center managed by the farmers themselves. According to Under-Secretary for Regional Development Mark Patterson, this project will consolidate the entire seed value chain in one location, which will reduce transport costs and increase the sector's efficiency.