A leading Japanese company is looking at the prospect of buying Tasmanian vegetables and fish and may even set up a vegetable processing plant in the Apple Isle. Late last year McCain Foods said they would be shutting down their Tasmanian vegetable processing plant in November 2010, a move that would leave a significant void in the market. And, while it is early days in negotiations, Primary Industries Minister David Llewellyn has said there is interest from a major Japanese food firm in filling... ...Read more »

McCain Foods appears certain to continue with plans to close their vegetable processing plant in Smithton, Tasmania after a last-ditch bid by Tasmanian Premier David Bartlett to change the manufacturer’s mind failed. Mr Bartlett met with McCain executives in Melbourne this morning and came away from the meeting resigned to the fact that the factory would close in November next year. He has attempted to convince McCain to at least keep it open for a further year, but this remains unlikely. McCain... ...Read more »

Birds Eye and Edgell maker Simplot has squashed hopes that they will take on more vegetable contracts in the wake of McCain’s decision to close a vegetable processing plant in the state of Tasmania. Simplot’s Managing Director Terry O’Brien told the ABC’s Country Hour that the company was committed to the southern state but had no plans to expand. “Unfortunately the market isn’t driven by supply, the market’s driven by consumer demand,” he said. “The... ...Read more »

Employees at the McCain vegetable processing plant in north-west Tasmania are hopeful that a co-operative could be created to ensure jobs are not lost. McCain announced last week that, while their Smithton potato processing plant will remain open, the vegetable processing plant in the same area will be shut as they move the operation to New Zealand. One of the workers impacted, David Murphy, told the ABC that employees would be supportive of a community-run plant. “It’d be nice to think... ...Read more »