Export freight scheme sees 11,000 tonnes of produce take to the skies

Seafood, lamb, dairy and horticulture products headed overseas under $110 million Federal Government scheme.

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MORE   than 11,000 tonnes of lamb, seafood, dairy and horticulture produce have scored a ticket to ride under the Federal Government’s airfreight export package.

And more than a third of the flights already locked in under the $110 million scheme will depart from Victoria.

The package, announced last month, is proving popular with Australia’s agricultural exporters, who were struggling to secure access to airfreight after the near shutdown of international passenger flights due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Under the Government plan, dedicated commercial freighters are departing Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Hobart with the cost subsidised. Adelaide and Cairns are joining from this week.

Exporters still have to pay but, given freight costs were three times higher due to the pandemic, the subsidy is keeping the cost closer to normal.

Almost 40 flights have already departed, with 347 flights scheduled.

Ninety-one of those trips will leave from Melbourne, primarily carrying lamb headed to the Middle East, while pork, dairy and fruit and vegetables have also managed to secure space.

Warrnambool’s Midfield Meat International is among those to have got on board, with 120 tonnes of chilled lamb on its way to Abu Dhabi in the past fortnight.

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the plan was critical in restoring freight routes and establishing frequent flights to major export markets such as the Middle East, China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

Australian Fresh Produce Alliance chief executive Michael Rogers urged the Government to consider what would happen when the funding for the program ran out.

“Do we have a new avenue for freight? The ideal would be to establish a new commercial pathway so freight can operate commercially, but we need to be working towards that. We can’t just have the government funding end,” he said.

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