Shape up or ship out warns biggest exporters

Shape up or ship out warns New Zealand biggest exporters

A new report warns New Zealand will seriously damage its trade performance if it fails to welcome bigger ships to its shores sooner rather than later.

New Zealand’s export trade is already being impacted by reduced shipping services, and with 99% of cargo carried to overseas markets by sea, time is of the essence. If New Zealand loses its current level and quality of shipping services to South East Asia alone, exporters face increased costs of $194 million a year to send product via Australia. With the additional threat of increased travel times to market, exporters of chilled product are seriously concerned.

In contrast, by accommodating bigger ships, New Zealand stands to benefit to the value of $338 million/year from 2015/16. This is a key finding of The Question of Bigger Ships: Securing New Zealand’s International Supply Chain report, published by the New Zealand Shippers’ Council at today’s Ports & Shipping NZ Summit in Auckland.

New Zealand Shippers’ Council Chairman, Greg Steed, urges all involved in the supply chain to consider the report’s findings and recommendations extremely seriously. “It is imperative to the future security of New Zealand’s export trade the country becomes capable of accommodating bigger ships as soon as possible. The Shippers’ Council recommends investment is made to improve New Zealand’s infrastructure as a matter of priority or we risk leaving New Zealand disadvantaged and unable to compete in global markets,“ said Steed.

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