A RODENT infestation has had a happy ending for NZ kiwifruit exporter Zespri, though not for the mice.
In April 2024 Zespri was forced to delay the start of its European sales season by a week following the discovery of pests in the holds of its first chartered reefer vessel on arrival in Zeebrugge, Belgium.
Evidence of the refrigerate rodents was found in some parts of the reefer ship Crown Garnet during Zespri’s standard clearance processes. There were 1.2 million trays of the SunGold variety on board, packed on 4800 pallets and worth around NZ$12 million and the company eventually took the decision to destroy the entire cargo to protect 20 years of reputation and brand-building.
Needless to add, the mice were also destroyed.
Zespri has now announced a NZ$24 million settlement with its marine cargo insurers which, it says allows Zespri to capture the marine cargo proceeds in the 2024 SunGold Kiwifruit pool. After allowing for costs, this will return a substantial proportion of the losses attributed to the incident to SunGold Kiwifruit growers at a value of 17-18 cents per tray, which will be reflected in the next forecast in this month.
Jason Te Brake, chief executive of Zespri, said the settlement was a positive outcome for the industry.
“We take fruit quality incredibly seriously and our decision to dispose of the fruit from the impacted vessel reflects our ongoing commitment to food safety and protecting our brand.
“We’re very pleased to have secured a positive result for the industry from this process, and I’d like to thank the Zespri team for their instrumental role in securing this outcome,” Mr Te Brake said
Zespri holds two insurance policies that it is seeking cover from – marine cargo and product contamination. The company is continuing to work on progressing its product contamination insurance claim, in relation to amounts not covered by the marine cargo insurance.
