A gap in production in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle allowed Chinese canned peaches to get a perch in the market - now they're undercutting the local offering and are here to stay.
The cost of living crisis has landed a hit on another industry, and this time Hawke's Bay peach growers are bearing the brunt of it.
Wattie's have told about 20 growers their contracts are being canned.
New Zealand peaches will still be produced at the company's Hastings cannery, but the premium offering is far more expensive than foreign fruit, and consumers are voting with their stretched wallets.
In a statement to The Detail Wattie's said it was working with affected growers, "many of whom we've partnered with for years".
"We recognise this is a difficult time for them and their businesses and are committed to helping them through this transition phase.
"The reduction has been a necessary response to an ongoing decline in demand for New Zealand grown product, as more Kiwis opt for cheaper imported alternatives.
"Since Cyclone Gabrielle hit in early 2023, the disruption to local orchards not only affected our ability to supply fruit but also opened the door for more imported products. Since then, we haven't recovered to the volume we saw before the cyclone."
Wattie's says there are no plans at this stage to discontinue Wattie's canned peaches, or for the company to import peaches. It says it remains "committed to offering a range of canned fruit that is New Zealand grown, including peaches".
Hawke's Bay Today journalist Gary Hamilton-Irvine says it is a sad situation, as Wattie's has a long legacy in the region, where it was founded more than 100 years ago. (Wattie's is now foreign-owned, and trades under Heinz Wattie's.)
Growers he has spoken to used their summer peach crops as a cashflow bridge until the money from autumn apples came in, and the apple crop was a good one this year. Some orchardists will be pulling up their peach trees and expanding their apple production capacity.
Hamilton-Irvine says they are generally realists about the hit they are taking, but the move is causing concern.
So are there fears for pears?
"I tried to ring around as many fruit growers as I could to see if it was wider than peaches ... at the moment certainly Wattie's, what they've told me, is it's just peaches - not to diminish the role of peaches here, it's big - but in terms of calling it a massive blow for Hawke's Bay that might be a little harsh.
"A lot of people are watching this space... just to see if there's flow-on effects from it, if other fruits are going to be impacted, if jobs that rely on the horticulture industry are impacted. There's a lot of people employed at Wattie's."
He says it is a reality check for people browsing the supermarket shelves to look for 'NZ made' on the labels.
"It might be $2 more or whatever it is, but it might be helping employ someone here in Hawke's Bay. It certainly would taste better."
Newsroom business reporter Andrew Bevin says Wattie's is very protectionist of New Zealand's peach industry - and we are seeing more and more foreign imports.
In July, Heinz Wattie's got the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment to begin a dumping investigation against China over their canned peaches.
The accusation with dumping is that an exporter is trying to take a slice of another market by selling goods for less than the price of producing them. International trade rules let you level the playing field by imposing tariffs if an investigation proves it's happening.
"It's a rare thing in New Zealand," Bevin says. "New Zealand only has live anti-dumping duties against a few products. Basically wire from Malaysia and China, some steel coming out of Korea, and preserved or canned peaches from Spain, Greece and South Africa. And there's also a live investigation into dumping coming from China.
"Each one of those peach actions was brought by Heinz Wattie's."
China has had dumping duties placed on its peaches before, for a period between 2006 and 2019.
A previous investigation that ended in 2023 found that China had dumped preserved peaches on the country but that was not harming the domestic industry, so no duties were imposed.
But Bevin says Wattie's ending agreements with Hawke's Bay peach farmers gives them more ammunition on that count for the investigation this time around.
