YOUR INDUSTRY
CEDENCO CHANGES WILL IMPACT ON CROPPING LANDSCAPE Words by Kristine Walsh, photo by Liam Clayton/The Gisborne Herald
Sweet corn harvest in action
Big changes from a Gisborne food processor will alter the region's arable cropping landscape even faster than had been anticipated. Cedenco Foods announced in March that at the end of the sweet corn harvest in early April, it will shut down its 20-year-old Individually Quick Frozen (IQF) facility, resulting in the loss of 21 permanent roles (of which eight were already vacant) and just over 100 seasonal jobs. Outgoing chief executive Joe Nelson said all affected staff would be offered redeployment either in Gisborne or at the company's Hastings plant, which would at the same time be opening its new apple processing facility. However, managing director Tim Chrisp noted there would be a definite impact on corn growers, if only for the short term. Gisborne District Council's 2020–2021 crop survey recorded that while a decline of just -0.6% in plantings of maize or sweet corn (to 6,485.5ha) appeared modest, that had come after a crash between 2014–15 and 2016–17, when plantings plummeted from just under 7,600ha to just over 6,200ha, before creeping up a bit in 2018–19. The report writers said that trend was continuing, most likely because crop land was transitioning to citrus, kiwifruit and other crops, particularly around the Poverty Bay Flats.
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NZGROWER : MAY 2021
And that was even before Cedenco's recent decision, which reduces by half the around 1,700ha of corn grown for processing by both contract farmers and the company's own farming division. Mr Chrisp said there would be some clawback in that Cedenco also contracts up to 860ha for sweet corn powder, and as the powder facility is expanded, he anticipates that will increase by around 10% a year. He was also optimistic there would be multiple options for growers, from moving into permanent cropping to supplying Cedenco as it works to develop new product lines including plant milks and protein products. “In the short term, areas no longer needed for corn production will likely be taken up by maize and grazing in the near future,” he told The Gisborne Herald. “In the medium term, we expect the arable cropping landscape to change as Cedenco and other companies develop new products that are more sustainable, throughout the supply chain. We don’t think it will take long for the vacuum to be filled.” Tim Chrisp said the company is grateful for the support received from the region's sweet corn growers over the last two decades.
