Following global giant Kraft Heinz’s decision to close their iconic NZ Watties growing and processing operation, rival company McCain, also a food multinational with an annual turnover of NZ$17 billion, is following suit. McCain has announced the closure of their Hastings vegetable processing operation, effective at the end of the 2026 growing season. A McCain spokesperson said “the decision follows a strategic review of our Hastings operations and reflects a shift in how McCain will supply its vegetable portfolio within Australia and New Zealand”. The Hastings factory currently processes more than 50,000 tonnes of vegetables annually, including peas, beans, sweetcorn and carrots.
The Hatchard Report has already looked at some implications in our recent article “Warning—Open Letter to NZ Growers and Consumers“, here are some more reflections on NZ’s future.
As we view the geopolitical situation from the far distance of New Zealand’s shores, it is apparent that we are in an era of increasing conflict and instability. The world’s major powers are gearing up their arms manufacture and development. Nations are choosing sides and acting in accord with their perceived interests. It would be very foolhardy indeed to base national planning on global conflict becoming less as the decade rolls on. Sadly, the reverse appears all but inevitable. The NZ government however appears to be clinging to the hope that somehow the world will return to normal with global business as usual.
History shows us that weathering turbulent times requires local Self-Sufficiency writ large with capital letters. Even the Covid era shows due how easily international supply chains can disappear. Our government policy has not begun to reflect the present and future challenges that are becoming evident in the daily news. Prompt action is necessary to reassess our priorities and put in place the appropriate economic planning instruments to avert any dangers even as they arise.
NZ is a country which has positioned itself as a bit player in the global supply chain world. Since the 1980s we have progressively lost our local industries which produce the essentials of daily life. Although we farm sheep, we no longer have a woollen industry, we export the fleece and import garments and fabrics. Although our nation is rich in commercial pine forests, we export logs and import furniture and building materials. Although we are one of the world’s biggest producers of dairy, we have just sold the retail arm of this operation to a French multinational food giant. Although we all drive cars, we have closed our local oil refinery.
As a result, from saucepans to toilet paper we have become dependent on buying from the global supply chain overseas. From hardy resourceful Kiwis, with an economy and produce that was the envy of the world, who thrived, despite our geographic distance, we have become a nation of consumers. In this, local business has been hamstrung by our government’s commitment to unfettered free trade which has ultimately handed the power to take over our marketplaces, health system, energy and economy to giant multinational companies who have unlimited investment resources. Something that local businesses cannot easily match. Companies like Kraft Heinz or McCain and many others who have acquired our national assets think nothing of gutting NZ local production. As a result of this process and a government addicted to globalism, we have lost too many of the manufacturing skills, trades and resources which are the mainstay of a self-reliant nation.
The events of the last few weeks should have told us that global shipping and air travel is the first casualty of conflict. Accordingly, we need to plan ahead. If McCain had undertaken a real ‘strategic review’ which took into account the needs of our nation, they would have realised the NZ needs to process vegetables. It is worth reflecting that the cradle of modern civilization was the development of settled agriculture. Modern humans are an agrarian race. Currently our government’s planning rules are crowding people together in small boxes built using off-gassing imported toxic materials, without gardens in cities high in pollution. Our supermarket shelves and retail outlets are packed with goods that arrive by plane and sea. All this in a peaceful nation with an abundant resource of beautiful productive land, open spaces, fresh air and sunshine. We have a temperate climate conducive to growing and abundant clean water.
I don’t need to list all the deficiencies of the globalist outlook, the global economy has become a very uneven playing field. Suffice to say it is now falling apart before our eyes as the thirst for monopoly, violence and sectarianism grows on the world’s stage. Like groundhog day, the world has seen this before and we shouldn’t fool ourselves that it won’t happen again. We may not be able to change the direction that others are taking, but we can think for ourselves and prepare for possible futures, even if we sincerely hope that our worst fears won’t eventuate. No one is going to steer our waka for us, we have to become more self-sufficient and more aware of the need to protect our own national interests. As individuals, we also need to think ahead. Buy local, demand better standards from supermarkets, make your voice heard. We need to recreate a ‘buy Kiwi’ mindset. This extends to every field of life. It will help prepare us for an uncertain future. The government has to facilitate this process rather than turning a blind eye as our Kiwi resources are sold to overseas interests.
