Business
Auckland International Airport : Fruit & veg takes flight from AKL & new cargo precinct on the horizon
Auckland International Airport : Fruit & veg takes flight from AKL & new cargo precinct on the
About this update from Auckland International Airport Limited
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n Fruit & veg takes flight from AKL & new cargo precinct on the horizon\n \n \n Overall fruit and vegetable air freight was up 34% since last summer\n \n \n 175% (1,448 tonnes) growth in avocados air freighted from AKL across the 2024/25 summer months compared to previous summer\n \n \n Cherries and capsicums were high on the export list over summer (2,888 tonnes and 1,493 tonnes respectively)\n \n \n New cargo precinct development underway at AKL, bringing cargo operators together into one place, and reducing truck trips on core roading network.\n \n \n Freighting fresh fruit and vegetables by air cargo was on the rise via Auckland Airport over the summer months, with a standout being the avocado.\n \n \n Overall, fruit and vegetable air freight was up 34% since last summer, flying from AKL to destinations around the world (year on year from 1 December 2024 to 28 February 2025).\n \n \n North Island avocado company Avanza - who exported over 550 tonnes via Auckland Airport globally over December 2024 to February 2025 - said impacts from the recent Cyclone Tam are not yet fully known but an increased crop in terms of fruit numbers will help for the year ahead, after just recently coming back after Cyclone Gabrielle.\n \n \n AKL saw avocado air freight increase by a whopping 175% on the previous summer, given the fruit had been so heavily impacted by severe weather in early 2023, impacting crops all the way into summer of 2023/2024.\n \n \n Between 1 December 2024 and 28 February 2025, more than 1,448 tonnes of avocados were exported from the airport in total, with the highest demand to destinations including Australia and markets in Asia including Thailand and Singapore.\n \n \n Auckland Airport's Chief Customer Officer Scott Tasker said: \"New Zealand growers compete on the international stage, and they've made themselves successful through quality and premium products.\n \n \n \"Time is of the essence with fresh produce and great air connections into key global markets means produce arriving in the best shape possible to command premium prices.\"\n \n \n Avanza's Steve Trickett said they are still assessing the impacts from the recent cyclone.\n \n \n \"We remain positive for the next season, but the Mid North appears to have been hit the worst. The Bay of Plenty, where around 60 per cent of volume comes from, were...