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Port
Marks Ten-Year Anniversary of The Port of Wilmington commemorated the ten-year anniversary of Kyokuyo Shipping’s New Zealand – Wilmington meat service with a ceremony and reception held at the Port on November 16. The ceremony was attended by representatives from Kyokuyo Shipping Company, Ltd., of Tokyo, Japan, as well as representatives from Richmond Limited and AFFCO New Zealand Limited, Kyokuyo’s principal New Zealand meat shippers. |
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Kyokuyo Shipping Company is one of the world’s major reefer shipping lines, specializing in the transportation of New Zealand meat, fish and fruits to North America. Kyokuyo established a bi-weekly New Zealand – U.S East Coast reefer liner service in early 1991, and the first vessel called in Wilmington on March 1, 1991. |
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The service began with calls in New Orleans, Charleston and Wilmington, but Wilmington eventually became the sole port-of-call, receiving over 60,000 tons per year of fresh frozen New Zealand beef and frozen fish. Kyokuyo operates the meat and fish trade to Wilmington year round, and during the spring and summer months, its ships carry New Zealand apples, pears and kiwifruit for that country’s largest fruit exporters. In 2000, Kyokuyo Shipping carried over 100,000 tons of New Zealand food products to Wilmington. Kyokuyo Shipping’s modern refrigerated vessels call at five New Zealand ports to load meat, fish and fruit, including Whangarei, Tauranga, Napier, New Plymouth and Nelson on the south island. The long and solid relationship between Kyokuyo Shipping and the Port of Wilmington has helped to develop the Port’s special niche in refrigerated cargo and has helped make Wilmington the nation’s largest port and distribution center for meat imports. The Port has dedicated high quality cold storage warehouses and meat inspection facilities for the New Zealand meat imports. When the meat arrives in Wilmington it is discharged, inspected and cleared for entry by the U.S. Department of Agriculture – Food Safety and Inspection Service personnel stationed at the Port. It is then stored and distributed by refrigerated truck to meat processors throughout the US and eastern Canada. The imported beef is destined primarily for US and Canadian meat grinders, processors and fast food suppliers, who blend it with American beef to produce higher quality and better tasting hamburgers. Kyokuyo Shipping this year took delivery of two new refrigerated vessels, each with a cargo capacity of over 400,000 cubic feet, which are being used in its New Zealand – Wilmington service. Founded
in 1923, the Port
of Wilmington is an important asset for the local and
regional economy, generating over 4,900 jobs and contributing over $16
million in annual tax revenues to State and local government. The
Port is owned and operated by the Diamond State Port Corporation, a
corporation of the State of Delaware. For further information,
digital photos, free tours of the Port and free speakers contact: Vered
Nohi-Becker, Marketing Services Manager at the Port of Wilmington @
(302) 472-7819, e-mail: vnbecker@port.state.de.us
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