COVID-19 UPDATE

24 April 2020

Dear STAG stakeholder,

On behalf of the STAG partnership group, I am pleased to provide this COVID 19 update.  In this edition, we are reporting on the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), a new COVID19 page on the STAG website as well as some changes to the way in which we will communicate with you.

International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM)

The IFAM team provided an industry briefing today.  74 loads have been committed to, with a further 30 to 40 in preparation.  The point was made that this is an emergency response initiative where speed is more important than perfection.  The aim is to stimulate the airfreight market and to drive prices down, then get out.  Here is a summary of the key points:

1.       To be part of the program you must register.  The link to do this is here https://haveyoursay.agriculture.gov.au/international-freight-assistance
You must complete all parts of the form with enough information to enable the team to work out what you need and how they can help you.  If you don’t provide enough information you will be put at the bottom of the pile e.g. China is not sufficient as a destination – specify which city.  Confidentiality of the data is assured.

2.       Aggregation and consolidation is the key to getting on a flight.  This means that you may have to collaborate with your competitors as well as other sectors.  Minimum freight volume for a charter flight is 20 tonnes.  With very few exceptions, that sort of volume is not an option for individual seafood exporters. 

3.       Passenger flights are unlikely to start anytime soon, and the cost of airfreight is not likely to come down.  This means that businesses need to start planning now for incorporating these higher freight costs into their sales and marketing.

4.       The program does not make payments to individual exporters.  The flights are being subsidised to bring down the costs to all exporters.

The aggregation message is particularly important for regional areas.  The IFAM team is working on establishing viable options from North Queensland, Adelaide and Tasmania.  The key to getting involved at the local level is to work with your freight forwarder.  Ask them to link you in with whatever is happening on the ground.  The IFAM briefing was recorded and when it is available we will post it on the COVID19 Updates page on the STAG website.

It is clear that the program currently is suited to large volume exporters with chilled/frozen who can drive volume onto set days.

STAG is working on a briefing document for the IFAM team that outlines the constraints that seafood, particularly live and wild-caught exports face with respect to committing to regular weekly flights.

We envisage that the commencement of some of the planned flights from Melbourne to Asian ports will be an opportunity for our Southern Live seafood exporters to use, alongside the mix of commercial flights used now. STAG will ensure that as these flights become available, we let exporters know and provide support to access these options.

Below you will find information about the most recent announcements as well as some market updates. As always, please do not hesitate to contact us on admin@seafoodtradeadvisory.com

Yours sincerely,

Nathan Maxwell McGinn - Chair

COVID-19 update page on the STAG website

The STAG has established a COVID-19 Update page on the STAG website.  The direct link is here. We will regularly post updates and advice about IFAM and other initiatives that may benefit seafood exporters.  As well as this COVID-19 Update, we will continue to send out STAG Bulletins when there are new announcements and/or information relevant to seafood exporters.  Our STAG News Bites service will also continue but, as markets are still quite volatile, this will now be sent out fortnightly instead of monthly.

IFAM fact sheet 

The Government has provided industry with a comprehensive fact sheet that explains further how the IFAM will work and the details that you should be aware of.  To download the fact sheet, click here

IFAM website

For further information regarding IFAM, how it will work, where to register your interest in IFAM as well as other critical information you need to do as an exporter, visit the IFAM website by clicking here

STAG Bulletins are available at http://www.seafoodtradeadvisory.com

STAG Bulletins are a resource for Australian seafood exporters.The Seafood Trade Advisory Group receives funds from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.  The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation plans, invests in and manages fisheries research and development throughout Australia. It is a statutory authority within the portfolio of the federal Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, jointly funded by the Australian Government and the fishing industry.