‘Europe’s largest fruit store’ moves from Belgium to the Netherlands

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Since the 1980s, two-thirds of all kiwis sold in Europe have been passing through the port of Zeebrugge, Belgium. Soon, however, that whole story will come to an end. New Zealand producer Zespri is relocating its Belgian operations to the Dutch port of Vlissingen. After 2028, no more kiwis will be coming to Kiwiweg in Zeebrugge; instead, the Netherlands is snagging the contract.

The decision has significant consequences for the port of Zeebrugge. Approximately 400 seasonal workers will lose their jobs. During the kiwi season, between 350 and 450 people typically work at the transshipment company Belgian New Fruit Wharf (BNFW) in Zeebrugge. BNFW is part of SEA-Invest, owned by entrepreneur Philippe Van de Vyvere, who has been a billionaire since 2025. The business newspaper De Tijd recently referred to the company as “Europe’s largest fruit store.” In addition to the 235,000 metric tons of kiwis in Zeebrugge, BNFW also handles 800,000 metric tons of bananas and 150,000 metric tons of pineapples in Antwerp. Even lychees arrive at Kiwiweg.

Reasons for the switch
Zespri calls the move “the best decision to further support Zespri’s growth in Europe.” The company will continue to work with ports in Italy and Spain for Southern Europe but is moving its Belgian operations entirely to the Netherlands. It describes this new structure as the way to “guarantee delivery,” “ensure network capacity,” and “build greater resilience.”

Mayor Dirk De Fauw (CD&V) of Bruges sees a clear trigger for the move: “The dockworkers’ strikes are one of the possible reasons,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. In early June, dozens of ships faced hours-long delays due to protests, and there was a similar strike in March as well. “It’s now being suggested that we should have given priority to the ships carrying kiwis, but we never received any indication from the company that it was running into trouble.”

Historic contract terminated
Zespri had had a contract with BNFW since 1985, which was renewed in 2018 for another ten years. But those are now the final years of that contract. The company sells approximately 3 billion kiwis per year in Europe, two-thirds of which were unloaded in Zeebrugge. Banana producer Chiquita also lost BNFW to Vlissingen back in 2015.

©engin akyurt via Unsplash