Coronavirus: Seafood aboard first offshore cargo flight

A plane-load of Tasmanian salmon will be ferried to Taiwan ahead of flights carrying lamb, crayfish and other fresh produce.

Tassal chief executive and managing director Mark Ryan.

A freight plane filled with Aust­ralian seafood will leave Brisbane on Thursday morning, the first in a series of special export flights deliverin­g a COVID-19 lifeline to primary producers.

A planeload of Tasmanian salmon will be ferried to Taiwan ahead of flights carrying lamb, crayfish and agriculture products being dispatched to other key export­ destinations, including Japan and the Middle East.

Mark Ryan, chief executive and managing director of Tassal, said the government’s $110m Inter­national Freight Assistance Mechanism would support seafood and agriculture businesses through the coronavirus pandemic.

Tassal, which relies heavily on the export market, employs about 1500 workers including fishermen, deckhands, and processing staff.

“This means Australian ­farmers and fishers can continue supporting their workforces, confident­ly operate their essential services during these uncertain times and also show leadership in Australia’s recovery ahead,” Mr Ryan said.

Australian primary producers have been hit hard by the COVID-19 outbreak, with about 90 per cent of freight transported overseas by air. The government’s exporter support measures that were announce­d last week — including the freight assistance program, which has already attracted more than 500 inquiries from exporter­s — will support Tassal in twice-weekly flights into the Taiwanes­e market over the next few months.

Trade Minister Simon Birm­ing­ham said the first flight under the freight assistance program would help Australian primary producers “get moving again”.

“This is about making sure our farmers and fishers can get their high-quality produce back into our key export markets so we can keep more Australians in jobs and generate extra export dollars,” Senator Birmingham said.

“Helping our export sector to overcome the barrier they current­ly face is crucial to reduce job losses through the COVID-19 crisis, and a critical part of the ultim­ate economic recovery.”

Michael Byrne, former head of Toll Holdings and Linfox, is overseeing the freight assistance mechanism operating out of four departure hubs in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth.

China, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Arab Emirates have been des­ignated as priority destinations for Australian products including chilled rock lobsters, crabs, Wagyu beef, dairy and table grapes.

Deputy Prime Minister Mich­ael McCormack said the government was working to relieve the immense pressure on agriculture and seafood exporters.