Do You Ship Cherries Overseas from New Zealand?
By Carla Munn, E-Commerce Manager at Pure Otago Cherries
TL;DR (Quick Answer): No, Pure Otago Cherries only ships within New Zealand at this stage. Fresh cherries are too delicate, heat-sensitive, and easily bruised for reliable international shipping via standard courier services. However, our parent company Pure Pac Sales Limited does export our cherries directly to retailers overseas, particularly across Asian markets — so if you're in Taiwan, China, Vietnam or nearby, keep an eye out for our fruit on shop shelves.
We get this question a lot — usually from Kiwis wanting to send cherries to family living abroad, or from cherry lovers overseas who've somehow heard about us. It's genuinely a lovely thing to be asked, and we wish we could say yes. Here's the honest answer, why it is what it is, and what alternatives exist.
Do you ship cherries internationally?
No — we only offer shipping within New Zealand at this stage. Our online shop is set up to send fresh cherries and honey to any address across NZ, but not beyond our borders.
Why don't you offer international shipping?
Two big reasons:
-
Cherries are extremely delicate. They're highly sensitive to heat and bruising through rough handling. At the moment there are no reliable international courier services that could ship our delicate product in a way that would preserve their pristine condition and taste. Even a few extra hours in an unrefrigerated warehouse can destroy a box of cherries.
-
The cost isn't sustainable at an individual-order level. International shipping of perishable goods requires specialised handling, cool chain logistics, and export documentation. The cost per parcel would make each box prohibitively expensive for both us and the customer.
We'd love to change this in future as cool chain logistics improve — but for now, we'd rather not offer something we can't deliver on properly.
Is there any way I can send NZ cherries to family overseas?
Unfortunately not through our online shop. However — if your family lives in an Asian market where Pure Pac Sales Limited exports our cherries, they may be able to find our fruit on retail shelves during our export season. Not quite the same as a gift-wrapped box on their doorstep, but it does mean our cherries are landing in their part of the world.
Do you supply exporters or Asian markets directly?
Pure Otago Direct — the brand behind our online shop — doesn't directly supply overseas markets. But our parent company Pure Pac Sales Limited exports the same premium cherries to a number of markets across Asia, including:
- 🇹🇼 Taiwan
- 🇨🇳 China
- 🇻🇳 Vietnam
- ...plus other selected export destinations across the region
If you're interested in stocking Pure Pac cherries as a retailer or importer, you can find out more at purepac.nz.
Can I place an order to send cherries to Australia?
Unfortunately not. Australia has particularly strict biosecurity requirements for fresh fruit imports, which makes ad-hoc consumer shipping essentially impossible.
The good news? Australia has many excellent cherry growers of its own, and quite a few of them run online stores. If you're looking to send fresh cherries to someone in Australia, a quick search will turn up some great options for direct-to-door delivery within Australia.
Can I buy a large volume for export or resale overseas?
Pure Otago Direct doesn't handle exports directly through our online shop — but our parent company Pure Pac Sales Limited does. If you're looking to buy in export-scale volume, whether for wholesale, retail, or overseas distribution, you're very welcome to get in touch with Pure Pac directly to discuss options.
Visit www.purepac.nz for more information.
The Bottom Line
We know it's not the answer everyone hopes for, but there's a genuine reason we haven't gone international with our online shop yet. Cherries are simply too delicate to survive most international shipping journeys in the condition we'd be happy to send them in.
If you're in NZ, you're all sorted — we deliver overnight nationwide. If you're overseas, keep an eye out for Pure Pac cherries in your local market (particularly if you're in Asia). And if you're looking to buy in export volumes, get in touch with Pure Pac directly.
Fingers crossed for a future where cool chain logistics let us ship worldwide — until then, we'll keep our focus on doing NZ delivery really, really well.
