Greens call for ‘urgent inquiry’ into Heinz Wattie’s and McCain plant closures

Green Party MP Steve Abel, inset, is calling for an urgent select committee inquiry into the closure of Heinz Wattie's and McCain food processing facilities. NZME Composite image.

The Greens are calling for a Select Committee inquiry into why two major food producers have announced major plant closures within a week.

Last week Heinz Wattie’s confirmed it would close its Christchurch, Dunedin and Auckland manufacturing sites after consultation with staff.

Frozen packing lines in Hastings would also close.

The announcement means the loss of about 300 roles across the impacted sites.

Heinz Wattie’s New Zealand managing director Andrew Donegan said the decision was needed so it could continue to manufacture products.

A harvester collecting sweetcorn for McCain in Hastings.

The confirmation came three days after McCain announced it would shut its Hastings vegetable processing plant in 2027.

The Omahu Rd plant processed more than 50,000 tonnes of vegetables annually.

According to the McCain website, the company employs more than 1110 people in Australia and New Zealand.

It also has a manufacturing plant in Timaru.

The company said the decision came after a strategic review of its Hastings operation.

A McCain spokesperson said the move reflected a shift in how the company would supply its vegetable portfolio within Australia and New Zealand.

Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Will Foley told RNZ the closures were a huge blow at a time when there was already a lot of pressure on households and businesses.

“I guess we’re all sitting here wondering why what we think is a pretty good food-producing region is struggling to produce and compete with imported food products?” he said.

Green Party spokesperson for agriculture Steve Abel wrote to the Primary Production Select Committee on Monday to call for an urgent inquiry.

Green MP Steve Abel speaking outside Parliament. Photo / Marty Melville / NZ Herald

Abel said the plant closures would affect New Zealand’s food resilience, cause job losses and threaten the viability of growers.

“There is little public information about what led to these factories closing,” he said.

“If the regulatory environment, energy costs, foreign-owner indifference to New Zealand interests, or anti-competitive behaviour from supermarkets is the problem, the public have a right to know.”

Abel said the country was heading towards a greater dependency on imported food, which put New Zealand’s food security, food sovereignty and resilience “at real risk”.

“I am calling on all parties in Parliament to support this urgent inquiry as a matter of national significance for New Zealand’s food system,” he said.