Shipping, export firsts for Nelson

Press, 9 April 1980, Page 21

Shipping, export firsts for Nelson

The Columbus Line vessel jolumbus Taranaki scored some notable firsts for shipping and New Zealand exports when she sailed from Nelson for South America and the Caribbean last week.

It was the first time a fully refrigerated container ship had visited the Port of Nelson and her cargo included 83 containers of apples and pears for Caribbean and French West Indies’ ports and (on deck) 20 valuable

stud rams destined f i>r Peru—both significant export breakthroughs for . ,ev. Zealand.

The two-year-old rams, 16 Corriedaks and four Merinos from Mr Roger James’ property at Springfield in Canterbury, were to be discharged at the Peruvian port of Callao and transported 800 miles south to Juliaca on the shores of Lake Titicaca. Mr James, whose son Warwick accompanied the rams on their journey to the Andes, is confident this initial sale will herald the beginning of a continuing market for .New Zealandbred stud sheep in South America.

The fruit consignment—72 containers of apples and 11 of pears from the N.Z. Apple and Pear Marketing Board—was shipped to the Caribbean ports of La Guaira (Venezuela), Port of Spain (Trinidad), Bridgetown (Jamaica),!

Curacao (Netherlands Antilles) and Martinique in the French West Indies.

The fruit exports were the fii’St in containers from Nelson and New Zealand’s very first to Venezuela. With 44 containers of apples and 11 of pears going to that country. the board sees it as the forerunner of continuing trade.

The marketing manager (Mr Pat Turner) said the board was very pleased with the whole shipping and export operation and was extremely hopeful that with the new’ Columbia container services out of Nelson, sales would continue to expand in all markets through the Caribbean and French West Indies. Another 84 containers of apples and pears are scheduled to leave Nelson for Venezuela and the Caribbean in the Columbus Canterbury on April 20.