HORTICULTURE
Above: Canberra’s export freight assistance package has been extended to September 30
export extension The federal government has extended its International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to September 30, in a move welcomed by the National Farmers’ Federation (NFF)
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tarting in April 2020, IFAM was designed to financially support airfreight imports and exports of agricultural products and medicines once commercial flights decreased due to border closures in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The scheme has now been extended to September 30 and NFF chief executive Tony Mahar says the agriculture industry will be a big winner from the news. “The government has demonstrated it understands the serious supply chain challenges, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, confronting many export industries, including the agriculture sector,” Mahar says.
“The IFAM program and its extension is nothing short of a critical life-line for agricultural commodities that are heavily reliant on international airfreight to get to market. “Sectors such as the seafood industry, high value horticulture, and chilled meat are primarily reliant on airfreight, and the extension of the IFAM program gives these industries some breathing space to find alternate supply chains in the mediumterm.” According to government data, IFAM has already reconnected Australia to 70 international destinations and allowed for 380,000 tonnes of “high-value perishable products” to be exported. The pandemic caused a 90 per cent drop in commercial flights overnight, and typically about 80 per cent of Australia’s airfreight is carried in these flights. The IFAM extension announcement was part of a $1.2bn package announced by the federal government for the aviation and tourism sectors, which included a half-price ticket program for passenger flights on certain domestic routes. A total of $781.8 million has been spent on the scheme to date.
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8/04/2021 5:14:21 PM
