Hastings Mayor Wendy Schollum and Central Hawke’s Bay Mayor Will Foley asked McCain to pause the closure. The company said no. That was the end of May. The plant closes January 31, 2027.
That gives growers, politicians and workers about two and a half years. Not everyone agrees on what to do next.
Green Party MP Steve Abel thinks the government should look at buying the place. He serves on the Primary Production Committee. He was in Hastings recently and got asked what his party would do about food-processing plant closures in Hawke’s Bay and across the country.
He said food resilience and security are high priorities for the Greens. “We are not averse to the idea that there are instances where strategic assets, such as a food-processing facility, should be protected for the broader national good, and if that means some public investment, so be it,” Abel said.
The Greens do not have a specific policy on the McCain plant yet. Abel described the issue as top of the party’s mind. He pointed to challenges with loss of mills and food-processing facilities, and energy price issues.
“We have specific strategies to address all of those things.” “It would be a failure of politic,” Abel said, before the source material cuts off. The Hastings facility processes vegetables for McCain’s frozen-food lines. McCain announced in March it would shutter the operation in 2027.
The closure puts jobs at risk. It has drawn political attention in the Tukituki electorate.
Not every candidate there agrees on a government buyout. The plant is scheduled to cease operations on January 31, 2027, following that year’s processing and packing season. That means this coming season and the next one will be the last.
Growers who supply the plant face an uncertain future. They have been trying to find a takeover solution.
The mayors asked McCain to pause the closure to give them time. McCain turned them down. So what happens to the vegetables?
What happens to the workers? What happens to the land? Those questions hang over Hastings and Central Hawke’s Bay.
The plant is a big employer. It processes a lot of peas, corn and beans.
Without it, growers lose their main customer. The region loses processing capacity. That matters for national food security, the Greens argue.
Abel said the party is not averse to public investment in strategic assets. He did not say how much.
He did not say what form it would take. He did not say whether the Greens would push for it in coalition talks or as part of a confidence-and-supply agreement. He said it is top of mind.
The mayors asked McCain to pause. McCain said no. The Greens say the government should consider buying. The government has not said anything.
The plant closes in 2027. That is the timeline.
Other candidates in Tukituki do not all agree. Some think a buyout is a bad idea. Some think the market should sort it out.
Some think the government should stay out. The Greens think otherwise.
The plant processes vegetables for McCain’s frozen-food lines. Those lines are big business. McCain is a multinational.
It decided Hastings was not worth keeping open. The company did not change its mind when the mayors asked. It did not change its mind when growers tried to find a solution.
It said no. Abel described the plant as a strategic asset. He said food resilience and security are high priorities.
He said the party has specific strategies to address energy price issues and loss of processing facilities. He did not detail those strategies in the Hastings visit. The closure puts jobs at risk.
How many jobs? The source material does not say.
The source material does not say how many growers supply the plant. It does not say how many hectares of vegetables go through it. It says the plant is scheduled to cease operations on January 31, 2027, following that year’s processing and packing season.
That is the fact. The mayors asked McCain to pause. McCain said no. The Greens say the government should look at buying.
The plant closes in 2027. That is where things stand.
