The bruising fall of the Hawke’s Bay peach and how supermarkets can help - Editorial

Wattie's canned peaches are an example of Hastings perfection coming in small packages.

THE FACTS

• Wattie’s has stopped purchasing peaches from up to 20 Hawke’s Bay growers due to declining demand.
• Growers face challenges after Cyclone Gabrielle, with some considering switching to apples or forming co-operatives.
• The situation highlights concerns about food security and the impact of supermarket practices on local produce.

Humble peaches in a can, preserved in syrup, have been a staple of middle New Zealand for more than a century.

Grown in Hawke’s Bay, canned by Sir James Wattie’s cannery, and shipped around the country and the world, they’re an example of Hastings perfection coming in small packages.

But times change.

This week, Wattie’s, which has been owned by offshore interests for decades now, told as many as 20 growers in the fruit bowl of New Zealand it no longer needed their peach crop.

It says Kiwis simply aren’t eating as many of its canned peaches as they did in the past, when they were a constant presence beside some vanilla Tip Top ice cream or in Nan’s upside-down peach cake.

It’s not stopping canned peaches altogether, but it is a bitter blow for those growers. It’s been just over two years since Cyclone Gabrielle swept through, with many fruit trees damaged beyond repair and forced to be replanted. Now this.

Some growers will rip up their peach trees for apples, arguably a safer export bet in the 21st century than stonefruit, and a crop that Hawke’s Bay has gravitated to.

Some might consider selling to different sources.

Perhaps there is money to be made in coming together as a co-operative and trying to take on Wattie’s at its own game, or even creating a fresh peach supply chain.

It’s a risk, but the howls of frustration from around New Zealand since the news broke about the loss of Hawke’s Bay peach trees show there’s something about them that is worth preserving.

New Zealand really needs its growers right now. It needs the food security they provide the country, and security is not just volume, but variety.

Humans can’t just eat apples and dairy forever.

One thing we must continue to be vigilant about is the effect our supermarkets are having on that security.

Canned goods from South Africa, the US and many other parts of the world are readily snapped up by the duopoly, and they are sold back to us at dirt-cheap prices.

Wattie’s isn’t innocent in this respect. The tomato crop used in its iconic tomato sauce isn’t quintessential Kiwi in a bottle any more to help save costs.

More than ever, Kiwis think of their families as they pick the cheapest option, perhaps not realising it’s to the detriment of our future crops.

Supermarkets could help be a part of the solution here.

For years, they’ve used products like Coca-Cola or toiletries as loss-leaders (a low-priced product that attracts customers into their stores so they do a full weekly shop).

Perhaps the duopoly should commit to only use New Zealand-grown food as their loss-leaders.

That might preserve a peach or two in the process.