Australia ties up with airlines to carry produce, seafood to Asian markets
Sydney
AUSTRALIA on Wednesday said it has reached agreements with Singapore Airlines and Qantas Airways Ltd to carry foods to Asian markets, part of a government initiative to help businesses hit hard by the new coronavirus.
Qantas from Thursday will begin a weekly flight from the country's north to Hong Kong carrying seafood and other produce from Queensland state, while Singapore Airlines will carry food from the state of South Australia, the government said.
Australia's trade minister, Simon Birmingham, said the agreements would help re-establish direct freight routes for exporters who have been struggling to ship overseas during the pandemic.
"We recognise the current Covid-19 crisis has placed immense pressure on local seafood exporters, many of whom felt the earliest impacts when overseas demand began to dry up in January," Mr Birmingham said.
The flights will fall under a A$1 billion (S$911.7 million) government fund to support regions, communities and industry sectors affected by Covid-19. Officials did not say whether the fund would pay for or subsidise the routes.
GET BT IN YOUR INBOX DAILY
Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox.
A mix of South Australian products, including chilled seafood, tuna, lamb, chicken meat and eggs, will be carried to Singapore, and later distributed to Hong Kong, Thailand and China.
About half of the air cargo carried worldwide in normal times flies in the belly of passenger jets rather than in dedicated freighters, but grounding of airplanes due to Covid-19 has made the market more dependent on freight haulers. REUTERS
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Transport & Logistics
GM CEO Barra compensation fell 4% in 2023 to US$27.8 million
Boeing reports first revenue drop in 7 quarters as deliveries decline
Volkswagen to keep China market share stable as price war rages
COE quota for May-July up 2.7%; passenger car categories rise despite less cut-and-fill
Tesla profits tumble but shares rise on new vehicle plan
Volvo Cars see good demand this year after higher Q1 unit sales