Arrival of second and third shipments kickstart sales after delayed start due to mice contamination
Zespri’s European sales season has commenced with the arrival of its second and third vessels after its first shipment was contaminated by mice.
The subsequent vessels have completed Zespri’s clearance processes with fruit from those ships now being distributed to customers.
Zespri chief operating officer Jason Te Brake said it was fantastic to be getting underway in Europe following a successful start across markets in Asia.
“We’re really pleased that fruit arriving on board our latest vessels into Europe is high quality and we’re looking forward to delivering this to our customers and meeting the strong demand,” Te Brake said. “While it’s disappointing our sales in Europe were delayed by the finding of mice on our first shipment, it’s been reassuring that our systems and processes allowed us to identify, contain and manage the issue.
“The affected fruit remains contained and we are continuing to work with our insurers and our shipping partner to identify the cause of the issue and identify next steps.”
Te Brake said Zespri customers in Europe were excited to get underway.
“While like us they’ve been disappointed by the delay, they’ve been understanding of the situation and supported the strong stance we’ve taken,” he said.
Te Brake added emphasised the Zespri brand is built on a commitment to food safety and a promise to provide high quality fruit, and the marketer won’t compromise on this.
“We’re also really pleased to see the NZ-EU FTA come into effect, removing the 8.8 per cent tariff on kiwifruit exports to Europe,” he said.
“We’ve worked closely with the government to support the agreement which will help support grower returns and our efforts to take more Zespri kiwifruit to Europe.”
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