The appointment falls under the government's $110mn International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) to ramp-up assistance to exporters and re-establish global supply chains as well as assisting importers of essential goods, such as healthcare supplies, personal protective equipment, automobile spare parts, and construction and manufacturing materials.
"In perishables logistics, time is of the essence as fresh meats and produce need to arrive with their freshness and quality intact, and that is now possible as we can secure capacity through the air freight network for our customers. We are working towards restoring supply chains for all our customers. We are hopeful that with these measures, we can start to restore some of the pre-COVID volumes for perishable exports, and more if the Asian markets start to open up again once containment measures prove successful," said Bernie Cooney, perishables and livestock manager at DHL Global Forwarding Australia.
According to the Australian Department of Agriculture around 65% of agricultural products are exported, with the majority going to China, Japan, United States, South Korea and several Asia Pacific countries. Beef made up 16% of total agricultural products exported while other meats made up 8% and live animals made up 4.2%.
As well as the export of high value perishables, DHL Global Forwarding is supporting the Australian Government IFAM program with the import of critical products like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and other essential goods.
George Lawson, country manager of DHL Global Forwarding Australia, added: “Trade, which is the lifeblood of our economy, has been heavily impacted by travel restrictions arising from the Covid-19 pandemic. As the market leader in the export of premium agricultural products and the import of healthcare, technology and infrastructure goods, we are uniquely positioned to support the Australian Governments IFAM program in jumpstarting trade activity. With our team of global trade experts, worldwide network and digital solutions, our aim is to improve lives by keeping Australian businesses running.”