This week, the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) announced multiple extensions on routes with Qantas and Singapore Airlines. The flight extensions are part of IFAM’s ongoing efforts to provide certainty for the sector as we continue to navigate the ongoing COVID-19 environment.

Global air supply chains linking Australian businesses to international markets are slowly rebuilding.  While this is positive, exporters should remain agile and flexible, and be prepared to adjust their business model and operations.  Today’s supply chains are different to pre-COVID supply chains – and they may not be the same again.  Businesses must use this time to look at these supply chains and evaluate how their business and commercial models align.

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

Exporters should speak to their freight forwarder and visit the IFAM website 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.  More...  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo: Todd Trapani / Unsplash

Over the past three years, India has experienced rapid growth in e-commerce retail activity which has grown from less than $1.4 billion in 2010 to more than $42 billion in 2019 – and is expected to reach $200 billion by 2027. This will be led by an estimated 300 to 350 million shoppers purchasing online by 2027.

E-commerce is an effective channel for Australian exporters to enter the Indian market or grow their existing footprint.  Austrade supports a successful Australian store on Amazon India featuring over 35 Australian brands, which presents a great avenue for new Australian exporters to sell to Indian consumers.  It is an opportunity for Australian exporters to test bed their products directly with consumers with minimal investment.

On 17 February 2021 at 12.30 pm (AWST), join experts from Amazon India to hear about the growing e-commerce and digital economy, and a new Amazon India service for exporters which can help your business by streamlining entry into the India opportunity.  

Who should attend:
Food and fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) exporters

Speakers:
Stuart Rees – Senior Trade and Investment Commissioner, Austrade
Anushree Hak – Senior Program Manager, Amazon Global Sales

This event is free, but participants must register.  More...  Source:  Austrade  |  Photo: iStock

This year's Sustainable Seafood Week in Australia will be launched via a virtual event live from Taronga Zoo in Sydney.

This annual campaign – run by the Marine Stewardship Council  (MSC) and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council – champions action to protect fish and marine life.

Held from 8 to14 March, it will celebrate the fisheries, retailers, chefs and restaurants in Australia that support the mission to end overfishing and ensure we have seafood forever. 

The event will include celebrity guest appearances, an MSC campaign preview, a special tour of Taronga Zoo, live and interactive polls using your phone, as well as the announcement of this year's Sustainable Seafood Award winners.  Entries for the awards close 19 February, with judging taking place 8 March.  More...  Source & Photo:  MSC

Applications are now open for Community Resilience Grants of up to $2000, as part of the Stay Afloat Australia program to support and improve the mental health of those in the seafood industry.

As part of the Stay Afloat Pilot Program, 35 Community Resilience Grants are available to support events that encourage seafood communities nationwide to come together to raise awareness of mental health and the benefits of overall well-being.

The objectives of the grants are:

• To encourage seafood community members to come together in a supportive setting;
• To raise awareness of the benefits of positive mental health and overall well-being towards a quality of life; and
• To provide support and tools to improve the mental health and well-being of our commercial fishers.

The Stay Afloat pilot program is supported with funding from the Australian Government Department of Health’s Mental Health Program.  More...  Source:  Stay Afloat Australia  |  Photo:  Paula Kalinowski / DPIRD

According to food importers in India, anxiety about COVID-19 is driving consumers to seek healthier food, Austrade reports in its latest South Asia update for Australian exporters.

Consumers are cutting back on sugar and salt, and are focused on preventive healthcare and ‘mindful eating’, indicating the potential for disruption in the food and beverages sector. This presents increased opportunities for ‘free from’ products from Australia.

Packaged food products have witnessed a 30 to 50 per cent spike in consumer demand in India during the pandemic. There has been a major shift in demand from unbranded to branded products. This has helped lift sales of Australian products across categories like snacks, cookies, ready-to-eat foods, protein rich foods, and immune system-boosting produce.

Western Australia exported $44.8 million of agrifood products to India in 2019-20, the State's 25th largest agricultural export destination. WA's highest value exports last financial year were wool, accounting for 65 per cent of the value of exports to India ($29 million), followed by processed oats and raw oats ($8.5 million and $2 million respectively).  More...  Source: Austrade / DPIRD | Photo:  DPIRD

Global trade in wheat for 2020-21 is expected to remain near the 2019-20 level as higher imports – mostly by China, Iran, Morocco and Pakistan – outweigh lower imports by Iraq and Turkey, according to the latest Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) Market Monitor report.

Compiled by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, the report's estimates of global stocks of wheat (ending in 2021) lifted on upward revisions in Australia, the European Union (EU) and the Russian Federation, more than offsetting cuts in Ukraine and the United States (US).

In the northern hemisphere, winter wheat is showing spot areas of concern in parts of the EU, the Russian Federation, Turkey, US, and Canada.

In Australia, harvesting is wrapping up with exceptional conditions in New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia, while conditions are favourable in Western Australia, the AMIS report says. More...  Source:  FAO  |  Photo:  DPIRD

Over the last year, countries around the world have come together to undertake synchronised actions to cushion the blow from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said last weekend.

In a keynote speech to the online Warwick Economic Summit, IMF Deputy Managing Director Antoinette Sayeh said this has included US$14 trillion in fiscal support to households and firms, and US$9 trillion in monetary support through interest rate cuts and other measures by central banks.

"These actions have helped to put a floor under the global economy, without which the economic impact of the pandemic could have been so much greater," Ms Sayeh said.

"In our latest forecast released last week, we project global growth at 5.5 per cent in 2021, which reflects the positive effects of vaccinations in some countries, adaptation to containment measures, and continued policy support."

Ms Sayeh said advanced economies with more fiscal space are expected to recover faster, and the IMF is calling for a synchronised investment in green and digital infrastructure, as the pandemic starts to come under control, to ensure a solid foundation is built for a more sustainable, inclusive economy in the years ahead.  More...  Source and Photo:  IMF

With the season’s first cyclone off the North-West coast in late January, businesses throughout the State have been reminded to ensure that cyclone contingency plans have been established and are in operation.

WorkSafe WA says it is crucial that everyone on both sea and land knows what to do when a cyclone approaches.

Under workplace safety and health laws employers must have adequate plans in place, and must provide employees with adequate training to protect everyone in the workplace in the event of a cyclone.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) has forecast an average to above average number of tropical cyclones in the waters off the North-West coast this season.  The average number of cyclones per season is five.

BoM has forecast a likelihood of at least two coastal impacts, with a significant risk of at least one severe impact.

Fishing vessels need to keep a list of sheltered anchorages and have information on how to use them, along with a specific action plan for each vessel depending on the distance from the cyclone and safe havens.  More...  Source:  WorkSafeWA  |  Photo:  BoM