South Port has opened a new storage facility at Bluff aimed squarely at the dairy trade, converting the former Southland Coolstores site into a 4000-square-metre store built to dairy standard.

The company calls the development the Bluff Freight Centre. RNZ reported on 30 October that South Port bought the old coolstore property and refitted it so that dairy exporters could hold product at the port before shipment.

Chief executive Derek Nind told RNZ the team had done a good job bringing the buildings up to a dairy-standard store.

The timing follows a strong year for the sector. New Zealand's dairy exports reached a record $28.8 billion in the year to June, and South Port has described agriculture as one of its growth areas as commodity prices lift across the South Island supply chain.

The port's own numbers for the same period were also records. Total cargo rose 11.5 per cent to 3.96 million tonnes, of which about 3.3 million tonnes was bulk product. Container throughput reached 62,000 TEU, the highest the port has handled. Net profit climbed 21 per cent to $16.1 million.

The Tiwai Point aluminium smelter remains the single biggest customer, accounting for roughly 24 per cent of the port's key volumes. Forestry dominates the primary-sector exports crossing the wharves, while fertiliser and stock feed are the main imports.

South Port employs about 140 people and has said it expects to add roughly 21 roles over the next 12 to 18 months as volumes grow. The Herald reported last month on the port's plans for new jobs when it briefed shareholders ahead of its annual meeting.

Beyond dairy, the company is watching several large regional projects that could feed cargo through Bluff. Fast-track consent has been granted for Ngāi Tahu's 1285-hectare Hananui salmon farm off Rakiura. Another prospect is the Datagrid data centre planned near Makarewa, about 7km north of the city, while a third is the building of wind farms across the lower South Island. In Otago, the 40-turbine Puke Kapo Hau wind farm being built by Mercury is due to start construction next month, with full operation expected by the end of 2028.

The port is majority-owned by Environment Southland, which last month sold about $30 million of its shareholding while keeping a controlling stake of about 52 per cent.

The dairy store adds capacity at a time when Southland's processors have been given higher forecast payouts for the season, with Fonterra lifting its forecast to $9.75 per kilogram of milksolids last month.

South Port has not said how much the Bluff Freight Centre cost or when the first dairy consignments will move through it.