New Zealand’s Port of Tauranga has continued to grow in container volume in the first half of its 2016 financial year.
Dairy and kiwifruit exports showed strong growth, with kiwifruit exports growing 22.9 per cent to 413,102 tonnes.
The growth is expected to continue, with the Port announcing a ten-year freight deal with New Zealand single desk kiwifruit marketer Zespri and Tauranga Kiwifruit Logistics to develop long-term investment in cold storage and port operations to support the growth.
The country’s largest terminal container terminal reported a 10.4 per cent increase in container volumes to 470,928 TEUs, though the port’s log exports decreased over the six-month period.
'Port of Tauranga is in an excellent position to continue to grow its cargo volumes as more exporters and importers recognise the value our hub port strategy delivers with reliable, fast and cost-efficient routes to markets,” CEO Mark Cairns said in a company statement.
'With the Tauranga harbour channel dredging proceeding well, we are on track to complete our contractual commitments with freight and logistics management company Kotahi by July, in order to see larger vessels starting to call at the container terminal by the end of 2016.”
