Last of the season’s kiwifruit in the hold

Reading Time: < 1 minute Zespri’s final charter shipment of the 2026 New Zealand kiwifruit season has departed the Port of Tauranga and is on its way to Shanghai.

The vessel, the Whero, is carrying more than 1.7 million trays, or 6120 tonnes of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit for consumers in China. It’s the 57th charter vessel for Zespri to help deliver a record crop of around 225 million trays (810,000 tonnes) this season, with final container shipments to depart New Zealand in the coming weeks.

CEO Jason Te Brake said the sailing of the Whero marks an important milestone as the industry enters the final stages of the New Zealand season.

“The departure of our final charter is an opportunity to recognise the significant effort from growers, post-harvest, logistics partners and our teams around the world to deliver another large crop to consumers in more than 50 markets.

“Sales have been encouraging in Europe, while North America continues to perform well. In Greater China, our in-market teams worked hard to capitalise on the recent Mid-Autumn Festival where we saw strong sales, with fruit from the Whero due to arrive in market in the coming weeks.”

Te Brake said despite a more challenging global trading environment and a more competitive fruit category, demand for Zespri kiwifruit has remained strong across many key markets.

“The strong demand we’ve seen this season reflects the value consumers are placing on high-quality, nutritious fruit and the efforts of our teams and partners across the supply chain. It has also been supported by the rollout of our new global brand platform, Grown for Good, across our core markets, which champions natural nutrition and the role fruit can play in supporting healthier lives.”

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