{"id":18061,"date":"2026-07-29T13:35:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T01:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18061"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:35:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T01:35:09","slug":"hawkes-bay-growers-abandon-bid-to-save-mccain-factory-after-equipment-pulled","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/?p=18061","title":{"rendered":"Hawke’s Bay growers abandon bid to save McCain factory after equipment pulled"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A group of vegetable growers in Hawke’s Bay are ditching their\u00a0plans to save the McCain factory<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In May, McCain announced it was closing its frozen vegetable factory in Hastings, a decision that’s\u00a0impacting more than 100 growers<\/a>\u00a0of peas, beans, corn and carrots.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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A group of growers and local mayors\u00a0asked McCain to pause the closure<\/a>\u00a0of its factory so they could carry out a feasibility study and try to find a solution for a possible takeover.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The growers’ interest in the McCain facility was on the basis that the processing equipment would be part of the sale and remain in place, allowing frozen vegetable production to continue.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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But now they’ve had to abandon the idea after McCain reportedly told them the equipment is no longer available.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Grower spokesperson Hew Dalrymple said the growers had explored the opportunity thoroughly and in good faith, but had ultimately been left with no option other than to withdraw their offer.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"McCain<\/div>
McCain Foods vegetable processing plant in Hastings. (File photo)<\/p>\n

Supplied \/ Google Maps<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is an incredibly disappointing outcome for us all, but on learning the processing equipment is no longer available, that fundamentally changed the situation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“While this particular chapter has come to an end, it doesn’t diminish our commitment to finding a future for vegetable growing and frozen vegetable production in Hawke’s Bay. Our growers remain committed to exploring what opportunities may still exist,” he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Hastings District Mayor Wendy Schollum said it was a disappointing outcome.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“We have worked alongside growers throughout this process, and I want to acknowledge the enormous effort they have invested over recent months to explore every possible option.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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“This is a disappointing outcome for the workers, growers, contractors and businesses connected to the plant, but it is about far more than one facility. Hawke’s Bay is one of New Zealand’s key food-producing regions, and vegetable growing and processing are vital to local jobs, our regional economy and the country’s food security,” she said,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Schollum said discussions with the government are ongoing, and Central Hawke’s Bay mayor Will Foley said government support will be critical in determining whether there is a sustainable future for vegetable growing and processing in Hawke’s Bay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Hastings<\/div>
Hastings District Mayor Wendy Schollum (L) and Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Will Foley. (File photo)<\/p>\n

RNZ \/ Supplied<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“This industry has been part of our region for generations. We owe it to our growers, workers and communities to continue exploring every opportunity to retain and grow that capability into the future,” said Foley.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The councils said they would continue working alongside growers, industry and government to determine whether there remains a viable future for vegetable growing and frozen vegetable processing in Hawke’s Bay.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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McCain has been approached for comment.<\/p>\n

Source: RNZ<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A group of vegetable growers in Hawke’s Bay are ditching their\u00a0plans to save the McCain factory. In May, McCain announced it was closing its frozen vegetable factory in Hastings, a decision that’s\u00a0impacting more than 100 growers\u00a0of peas, beans, corn and carrots. A group of growers and local mayors\u00a0asked McCain to pause the closure\u00a0of its factory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18062,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[174],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-18061","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nz-news"],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18061","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18061"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18061\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18063,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18061\/revisions\/18063"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/18062"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18061"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18061"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thebuzz.apnanetwork.co.nz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18061"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}