I was absolutely outraged to learn that Watties is no longer going to can some of our local growers’ fruit.

Not only is it going to hurt growers and their livelihoods, but it’s also going to hurt their long-loyal customers.

Tinned fruit is about as close as some families can get to peaches and apricots these days – such is the price of the fresh alternative in these high cost of living times.

And Kiwis want to eat Kiwi-grown, because we know where it comes from and how it is grown. And you can’t tell me Wattis haven’t made money off our tinned peaches grown here. Their brand is the premium and usually is priced higher than any alternatives. It’s just they’ve found a cheaper alternative and they want to cut their expenses and make more profit. Well, let us customers cut our ties with them. I really hope someone in the horticulture industry sees this demand for Kiwi-grown and Kiwi-tinned fruit and could join with others, if needed, to create a Kiwi-owned factory to produce Kiwi canned fruit and other goods.

We can only but hope – otherwise one of our most loved fruit, peaches, will be off the menu and the pavlova this Christmas/summer.

K Morland, Katikati