Port Tauranga

Some 7,500 pallets of kiwifruit have been loaded on to the Ice Glazier V8 vessel at New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga in what is the largest shipment Zespri has ever charted to Asia, reports The Sun.

The shipment is on course for the ports of Tokyo and Osaka in Japan, and Shanghai and Tianjin in China.

Japanese carrier Fresh Carriers invited Zespri chairman Peter McBride and Zespri CEO Lain Jager as well as media to celebrate the record shipment.

The record-breaking shipment to Asia was originally planned for April, but following findings ofsmall deposits of mechanical lubricant on some of its kiwifruit pocket packs, the Ice Glazier had to offload 1.7m trays, Bruce Nisbet of Oceanic Charting Specialists told The Sun.