Fresh Carriers Co., Ltd (FCC) and Zespri have successfully completed the first kiwifruit charter powered by low-emissions biofuel, with the vessel Kowhai docking at Nangang Port in Shanghai.

The Kowhai, Zespri’s first charter shipment for the Greater China region for the 2025/26 season, arrived last night after departing Tauranga mid-March.

 This marks the continuation of Zespri and FCC's trial work following a technical performance trial completed last year.

Due to biofuel's unavailability in New Zealand, the Kowhai bunkered the biofuel in Hong Kong before sailing south to Tauranga.

"It was then loaded with 1.2 million trays, or around 5,400 tonnes, of Zespri SunGold Kiwifruit, alongside 16 containers of Zespri RubyRed Kiwifruit for customers in Greater China.

 During its journey, the Kowhai was powered by a biofuel blend made from used cooking oil.

The success of this biofuel charter was made possible with support from PFS Cold Chain Logistics Co Ltd (PFS) and VX Cold Chain Logistics, Zespri’s logistics partners in China.

Zespri CEO Jason Te Brake said it was an exciting step forward to transport Zespri Kiwifruit on a charter powered by biofuel with long-term shipping partner FCC.

“Shipping has the largest carbon impact across our supply chain, making up more than 40 percent of Zespri’s emissions for fruit sold globally.

We’re focused on efficiency measures and collaborating with shipping partners such as FCC to trial low-emissions solutions, which will help reduce our carbon impact per tray of fruit,” Te Brake said.

FCC’s President and COO Toshiyuki Koga said, “FCC is committed to reducing emissions to assist Zespri in meeting their carbon reduction goals and progressing towards IMO-aligned targets.”

“This voyage is the first commercial shipment of Zespri kiwifruit using modern engines burning biofuel for the entire journey from Tauranga to Shanghai,” Koga said.

The arrival of the biofuel-powered Kowhai in China also signals the start of Zespri’s sales season in one of its largest markets.

Te Brake said, “It’s all part of understanding what we need to do on the ground so we can scale this in the future.”