Wednesday, 29 March 2023 12:55

2023 kiwifruit crop sets sail

Written by Staff Reporters

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The first shipment of 2023 NZ kiwifruit from this season recently departed from the Port of Tauranga.

The first shipment of the 2023 New Zealand kiwifruit season recently departed the Port of Tauranga, carrying around 2,500 tonnes (more than 600,000 trays) of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit to customers in Japan.

The ship is expected to reach Tokyo in early April before sailing onto Kobe. It is the first of 53 charter vessels Zespri will use this season to deliver around 145 million trays of Green, SunGold and RubyRed Kiwifruit to more than 50 countries.

This season’s charter programme will include three services to Northern Europe, seven to the Mediterranean, two to North America’s West Coast and 41 to Asia, with a further 73 million trays to be shipped using container services.

Zespri’s Jason Te Brake says that after a really challenging 2022 and a tough start to 2023 – given adverse weather events including Cyclone Gabrielle’s impact in Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne – the start of the new season represented a reset for the industry.

“Demand for our fruit remains strong, and with this season’s harvest ramping up over the coming weeks, we’ll soon move into main pack where the bulk of our fruit is harvested.”

“While Covid-19 caused significant shipping disruption in recent years, we’re expecting a more stable shipping environment this season, with better transit times delivering fruit to markets,” he says.

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