Questions had been raised by some of Invercargill city’s civic leaders about why Great South board chairman Ian Collier had supported the plant’s proposed move to Canterbury.
The Otago Daily Times understands Mr Collier had been appointed to the board of New Zealand Functional Foods (NZFF).
Great South, the Southland regional development agency mainly funded by Southland’s joint councils, initially established NZFF.
But Sir Stephen Tindall, who owned K One W One Ltd, now holds a 51% company share and Great South 49%.
Great South announced 10 days ago the plant was likely to be built in Canterbury.
Some Invercargill leaders were calling for a full inquiry into the matter.
The agency had spent the past 10 years working towards hosting a Southland-based oat milk plant.
The "Beyond 2025" regional development plan projected the new plant, once operational about 2025, would create more than 70 new jobs and more than 100 during its construction phase.
In July 2022, then economic and regional development minister Stuart Nash announced the joint operation between Great South and K One W One would receive a $6 million grant from the Regional Strategic Partnership Fund to help establish the plant.
NZFF chief executive Paul Harvey said it was important for the company that its location allowed easy connection and collaboration with industry and infrastructure.
"This led us to the tough decision to move our planned manufacturing location from Southland. It will likely be in the Canterbury region."
Even though the plant would be in Canterbury, he would like Southland oats to be used.
"It’s a proven fact that the best oats are grown in Southland and we wish to bring new value to new and current growers across the region."
The original vision was to build a plant in Southland, but through extensive global engagement the vision had grown significantly, he said.
"We now foresee an opportunity for NZFF to be world leaders."
The company has yet to explain how it intends to offset the transport costs and increased carbon footprint associated with transporting oats from Southland to Canterbury.
The Otago Daily Times has yet to receive a response to what supply contract conditions would be provided to Southland oat growers to ensure they would be competitive with Canterbury’s agriculture and grain market.
Federated Farmers agriculture chairwoman Sonia Dillon said she hoped NZFF would continue to support Southland oat growers.
She did not expect the factory relocation to have a detrimental effect on growers as much as losing the plant itself from the region.
"There’s a lot Southland is now missing out on ... but we can certainly push for growers to keep their position as part of the story."
The Otago Daily Times understands NZFF was having discussions with global investors that had influenced the decision to move the plant to the Canterbury region.
Great South chief executive Chami Abeysinghe said she thought it was important Southland got the "bigger picture".
"While we're putting that disappointment aside, we need to continue to support this project," she said.
"And that means we bring new technology to New Zealand, we place New Zealand in a position of advantage as a leader on a global scale.
"So, we're proud that we've been able to bring that to us, to this country, even if it's not within Southland."
