MEDIA RELEASE Thursday 11 March 2021
The Australian Meat Industry Council (AMIC) is thrilled by the Morrison Government’s announcement today that the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM) has been extended by three months, to 30 September 2021.
From March 2020 to February 2021, meat exports via IFAM have included 40,000 tonnes of sheep meat, 27,000 tonnes of beef, 9,000 tonnes of pork, with 340,000 tonnes total volume of produce valued at $4.9 billion.
“The IFAM extension provides the whole Australian red meat supply chain, including exporters, processors, lot feeders and farmers with a ‘shot in the arm’ at a critical time for the industry whilst it faces a range of key issues including worker shortages, a slow start to exports for 2021 and lack of livestock supply,“ said AMIC CEO Patrick Hutchinson.
“The extension of IFAM provides ongoing recognition of the importance of airfreight supply chains in delivering highly valuable, and perishable, protein to international markets.
“AMIC has been working exceptionally closely with the IFAM team on behalf of the whole red meat and pork supply chain, and this positive outcome is a reflection of the ongoing collaborative and consultative nature of the program.”
