| 65 T T Sue Russell Vegetable growing across generations The main crops grown are potatoes, onions, carrots, pumpkins, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce. HORTICULTURE Hira Bhana & Co Ltd Bharat Bhana remembers his father, Hira, as the quintessential retailer – a man who had the gift of the gab and knew every customer by name. Those customers used to visit his fruit and vegetable retail shop on the road frontage of their block of land in Pukekohe, a district known throughout the country for having wonderful soil. Today, Bharat, along with his four brothers, all in their 60s, are handing over the family business bit by bit to the next generation. The story of how Hira, through dogged determination and hard work, brought up a family and nurtured a thriving cropping business in the South Auckland hills, is typical of many families whose roots begin back in India. Hira arrived in New Zealand at the age of 12 in 1935, and later returned to India due to his father’s poor health. Coming back to New Zealand in 1949 and working in several fruit and vegetable retail shops across parts of Auckland and in Rotorua proved Hira had what it took to eventually take the risks and lease, then subsequently purchase, his own land on which the family business grew. Sadly, the patriarch passed away, too young, in 1976 at just 50 years of age, leaving his wife Bhani to take over the growing business and encourage their children, five sons and two daughters, into taking up respective roles. Today, the four brothers, Dinesh, Amrat, Bharat and Balrent manage the company. Their children have now stepped into roles of responsibility, ensuring the business will continue well into the future. “We are certainly very proud of what our father started, and what it has become. Growing vegetables is no easy thing in this country, with the spread of housing encroaching on this area, which has traditionally been planted in crops,” Bharat says. The main crops grown are potatoes, onions, carrots, pumpkins, cabbage, cauliflower and lettuce, and today the growing footprint extends over numerous farms over the surrounding district either leased or owned. It’s a sizeable enterprise, engaging close to 60 people all year round, with work ramping up from October. The bulk of onions are exported and during the busy harvesting processing time commencing mid-January, additional staff are taken on. Each season, a substantial tonnage of onions is exported, mostly to Europe, and a large tonnage is also sold on the local market. Potatoes, onions, cabbage and carrots are exported through Turners & Growers and other exporters to the Pacific Islands. The four brothers each have their own area of responsibility, but get together to discuss and determine overall business decisions. “Our children also all have their own positions; however, there’s flexibility there as well as we can all hop into help someone else.” Bharat holds strong convictions about the market stresses impacting the viability of growing crops for those in the sector. His view is that local consumers do not rightly value vegetables and fruit enough, and wrongly hold the opinion that these foods should be priced cheaply. “I don’t understand why this is so, when you consider all the health benefits that come from eating a large percentage of vegetables in the diet. It would take care of a lot of the health problems people have these days.” He believes there’s a lack of understanding about the costs that really go into producing good crops all year round. “It costs us the same amount in inputs to grow our vegetables, and depending on the market conditions we have no control over the price we receive. Our wages costs are huge. Somehow, we have to make that all work within our business to have enough to reinvest to keep the company going.” Growers know Jarvis, Jarvis know Growers. Proudly supporting Hira Bhana & Co Ltd www.jarvis.co.nz + 64 9 274 4152 sales@jarvis.co.nz PO Box 18, TUAKAU 2342 Phone 09 236 8693 Mobile 0274 968 800 Fax 09 236 8647 Email accounts@collettelectrical.co.nz www.collettelectrical.co.nz Aaron Collett REGISTERED ELECTRICIAN INDUSTRIAL ELECTRICAL CONTRACTORS
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