Ruapehu District Council Mayor, Weston Kirton, has joined Chinese Embassy officials, including Minister-Counsellor Zhang Xinyu at a visit to the Chinese-owned King Country Pet Food processing plant near Taumarunui this week.
The $100 million plant manufactures premium pet food kibble for markets around the world and represents a major investment in the Ruapehu district.
Mayor Kirton said it was a privilege to meet with senior Chinese Embassy representatives and to support King Country Pet Food.
“King Country Pet Food is a world-scale manufacturing facility and a critically important economic asset for Ruapehu that aligns strongly with our primary sector strengths,” he said.
“As production ramps up, there are growing opportunities for Ruapehu and regional producers supplying premium ingredients such as meat, grains, vegetables and honey – areas where our farmers, growers and primary producers excel.”
Mayor Kirton said the scale of production required to meet international demand also created wider economic opportunities, particularly in logistics.
“The volume of product being moved also presents the possibility of better utilising the Taumarunui rail yards and the North Island Main Trunk line to transport large numbers of containers efficiently,” he said.
Mayor Kirton said discussions during the visit also touched on Ruapehu’s tourism sector and the potential to attract more visitors from China.
“One of the points discussed was that unlocking this opportunity depended on having key visitor infrastructure, particularly suitable accommodation,” he said.
“This highlighted that without the higher-end accommodation that was previously offered by the Chateau, Ruapehu is missing out on both the quality and quantity of visitors we need to grow our tourism sector.
“The Chateau provided around a third of Ruapehu’s commercial visitor beds, with a significant proportion used by international visitors during the summer months. These beds have not been replaced.
“Getting the Chateau back online is essential if we are to attract high-value international markets such as China and support sustainable, year-round jobs and investment,” said Mayor Kirton.
Minister-Counsellor Zhang noted that the scale of China’s outbound tourism market presented strong opportunities for Ruapehu.
“There are many Chinese tourists who would value what Ruapehu has to offer,” she said.
Mayor Kirton said the visit reinforced the strong connections between international investment, primary sector production, infrastructure, and tourism in driving Ruapehu’s economic future.
