A grower from Gisborne says there is little demand for the Government's 3-million dollar coastal shipping service to Napier.
Gisborne's Eastland Port is getting ready to unload its first container ship in more than 40-years tomorrow in a bid to move produce without relying on the devastated roading network.
The port's chief operating officer Andrew Gaddum said it had been a hard slog getting to this point.
The MV Rangitata is en-route from Napier, currently waiting in Tūranganui-a-Kiwa carrying 13 empty refrigerated containers - waiting to dock tomorrow.
Leaderbrand Chief executive Richard Burke told Māni Dunlop 10 containers of squash will be loaded onto the ship.
