New Zealand kiwifruit marketer Zespri has signed an agreement with port operator SEA-invest that will see the exporter maintain the Belgian port of Zeebrugge as the gateway to Europe for New Zealand kiwifruit sendings.
The five-year deal was inked in Auckland in the presence of Belgium’s Prince Filip. Prince Filip was in New Zealand leading a delegation of Belgian businesspeople.
Under the agreement, SEA-invest puts its infrastructure at the disposal of Zespri for the storage, quality control and packaging of kiwifruit that arrives from New Zealand in Europe via the port of Zeebrugge.
Around 120,000 tonnes of Zespri Kiwifruit is imported through Zeebrugge every year. From Zeebrugge, it is then distributed to 25 markets across Europe.
Zespri chief executive Lain Jager said: “Zespri has built a reputation for delivering the world’s premium quality kiwifruit for European customers to enjoy. A key part of delivering this is having the Zeebrugge facility to maintain our quality control and meet customer requirements.”
