Growers face big losses

Press, 7 April 1987, Page 3

Growers face big losses

PA Gisborne Gisborne tomato growers say they have lost a million-dollar income with the news that Wattie’s will not need their product next year. Growers had heard rumours in October that Wattie’s Gisborne tomato processing would stop, said the president of the Gisborne Produce Growers’ Association, Mr Frank Briant.

They had spent "quite a bit” of time and money putting together a case to show Wattie’s that it would be a bad decision to stop processing tomatoes in Gisborne, he said. Gisborne was geographically suited to growing tomatoes, the expertise was there and growers had spent a lot of money — up to $2 million — on

equipment to do the job better. All that had “fallen on deaf ears" and the company had decided to do all its tomato processing in Hawke’s Bay.

"We even went to Auckland to talk to company senior representatives and the board chairman, Mr Pat Goodman,” Mr Briant said.

Tomatoes grown for Wattie’s had been a “very important” crop for Gisborne, said Mr Briant. At $lOO a tonne, a season’s crop brought $1 million into the district. Government Ministers expressed regret at the redundancies in Gisborne and Hastings. But they said rationalisation was an inevitable part of getting industry on a firm and competitive

footing. The Ministry of Employment, Mr Goff, and the Minister of Regional Development, Mr Caygill, said the Government would provide help to those who had lost their jobs in the restructuring of the plants. Opposition members of Parliament yesterday blamed the Government’s economic policies for 380 redundancies. The losses were evidence of the dire effect Labour’s policies were having on productive industries throughout New Zealand, said the Opposition spokesman on provincial issues, Mr Friedlander.

“There is/absolutely no doubt that Labour’s overvalued and extremely volatile dollar, combined with exceptionally high interest rates is forcing industries across the productive sector to retrench and adopt very conservative managerial policies,” he said. The result was disastrous for provincial cities throughout the country.

“I am not critical of Watties for making what must have been a very painful decision for them, but I am totally resentful of the Government for making this necessary,” he said.

Hastings’ Labour member of Parliament and Under-Secretary for Agriculture, Mr David Butcher, said there was no single reason for the company to cut staff levels.

Changes in technology, in management and the need to improve efficiency had all contributed, he said.