The International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) team and its airline and freight forwarder partners are working hard to make your Christmas a merry one, with regular flights to numerous markets this December.

IFAM's top priority is providing certainty for you and your customers as we head into peak season. With regular flights, Australia also continues to demonstrate its reliability as a trading partner. 

Australian products remain in high demand globally – let's work together to get top Aussie produce onto feast tables from Narita to Dubai to Los Angeles.

IFAM regularly holds state-based virtual industry briefings to provide updates.  If you would like to join the invitation list, please email IFAM with your name, business name and state.

Full details on the latest IFAM outbound and inbound flights are available on the IFAM webpage.

Exporters should speak to their freight forwarder and visit the IFAM webpage for further assistance. If you have any questions or need more information, please email Airfreight@austrade.gov.au, or Austrade State Director WA, Jane Caforio, at jane.caforio@austrade.gov.au.  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo:  Emirates

Western Australia's Fisheries Minister Peter Tinley has opened a new nursery facility that will take a South-West aquaculture company to the next level of production and diversity, as it meets a growing demand from Asian markets for premium freshwater fish.

It's not uncommon for high quality rainbow trout to be swimming at Blue Ridge Marron one day, and to be on a plate and served in a high quality Singapore restaurant the next. The trout is exported fresh from WA with no freezing involved along the way.

Trout Caviar is also growing in popularity as this WA venture expands production of fresh and smoked trout products for gourmet delis in Perth and around Australia, in conjunction with the international markets it's now developing in Asia, which includes Hong Kong. 

The new facility, located around 14 kilometres from Manjimup and established by industry leaders in South-West aquaculture Peter McGinty and Steve Vidovich, will enable their company, which also exports marron products, to improve the quality and quantity, as well as the speed and efficiency of production.   More...  Source:  WA Minister for Fisheries  |  Photo:  Peter McGinty, Blue Ridge Marron [New trout nursery facility at Blue Ridge Marron]

Western Australian businesses are being equipped with skills to expand exports to key Asian markets through a series of Asian Engagement workshops which concluded this week.

Asian Engagement Minister, Peter Tinley said the four Asia Business Capability Workshops were designed to help local small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) learn how to harness big opportunities in the Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and India markets.

The workshops, attended by 65 SMEs, supported businesses to add value to COVID-19 recovery business plans, diversify their market strategies by engaging with emerging Asian markets and further develop their professional and Asia business networks.

Supporting Asian literacy and capability in local businesses is one of the four key themes of Western Australia's Asian Engagement Strategy 2019-2030: Our future with Asia.

The workshops helped to address some of the findings of the Economics and Industry Standing Committee's inquiry into the State's economic relationship with India. The Turning to India: Investing in our Future report was released last month.   More... Source:  WA Minister for Asian Engagement  |  Photo:  JC Gelidon / Unsplash [Philippines]

Importers and food service companies in Thailand are seeing a rise in beef consumption, in particular among younger demographics, Austrade reports in its latest ASEAN region update for Australian exporters.

Traditionally, beef is consumed in hospitality venues. Now, more people are buying beef at supermarkets to cook at home. Industry reports say consumers are also experimenting with different meat cuts and types of preparation.

From 1 January 2020, tariff rates decreased to zero on a number of Australian beef and dairy products imported into Thailand under the Thailand-Australia Free Trade Agreement and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement, opening up a range of export opportunities in Southeast Asia's second-largest economy.

For further assistance, please contact Austrade.  |  Market Profile - Thailand |  Source:  Austrade / DFAT  |  Photo:  Braden Jarvis / Unsplash [Bangkok, Thailand]

The Federal Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment (DAWE)  has issued a Market Access Advice on the directive released by Vietnam’s Ministry of Health regarding COVID-19 testing requirements for consignments of imported food subject to cold storage into Vietnam.

DAWE encourages all exporters to work with their importer to ensure that product meets the current importing country requirements.

Please contact exportstandards@awe.gov.au if you require further information.  More...  |  Related:  Agribusiness to Vietnam – Trends and opportunities  |  Source:  DAWE / Austrade  |  Photo:  Peter Nguyen / Unsplash [Vietnam]

COVID-19 vaccination campaigns, concerted health policies and government financial support are expected to lift global gross domestic product by 4.2% in 2021 after a fall of 4.2% this year, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) reports in its Economic Outlook December 2020.

It says the recovery would be stronger if vaccines are rolled out fast, boosting confidence and lowering uncertainty.

The bounce-back will be strongest in the Asian countries that have brought the virus under control but, even by the end of 2021, many economies will have shrunk from 2019 levels before the pandemic.

The OECD Australia Economic Snapshot says, aside from Victoria experiencing a significant surge in COVID-19 cases in the third quarter with corresponding lockdown orders, Australia has been hit by the pandemic less severely than other countries.  Source:  OECD  |  Related:  Tailwinds help Australia cruise towards recovery  Source:  AFR [paid subscription]  |  Graphic:  OECD