Increased air freight helps aquaculture exports

Friday, 8 May 2020

Air New Zealand will receive the bulk of the new air freight package operating 37 of the 56 new weekly flights.

A move to increase cargo flights out of New Zealand has come at a good time for the live rock lobster industry, but more domestic airfreight is still needed, Marlborough businesses say.

New Zealand's live lobster is usually in high demand in China during April and May, as they celebrate moving into the warmer months with festivals, weddings and parties.

'Of course that's all been shut down,' Dennis Burkhart of Burkhart Fisheries says, but he was optimistic that China was moving towards allowing such events, alongside a timely move to increase cargo flights out of New Zealand.

Transport Minister Phil Twyford announced the move on Saturday, saying they had set aside $330 million to help boost air freight capacity coming in and out of the country.

Dennis and Trevor Burkhart, of Burkhart Fisheries, say the increased cargo flights will be a 'significant injection' for New Zealand exporters. (File photo)

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The New Zealand Rock Lobster industry took a significant hit when orders were cancelled before the Chinese New Year.

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It would add 56 weekly flights to the 90 commercial and charter flights currently running, which was down from about 600 a week before the outbreak.

The new flights mostly spanned the Asia-Pacific region, with routes to Japan, China, South Korea, the US and Australia. There would also be flights to Dubai.

New Zealand's $320 million rock lobster industry was one of the first casualties of the coronavirus outbreak, as exports were suddenly halted in late January, just before the Chinese New Year.

Burkhart said at that time they had 'huge volumes of stock' which suddenly could not be exported.

The product went from being worth $100 per kilogram to $20 per kg. It cost them $30 per kg to catch, he said.

'A lot of people got some cheap crayfish in New Zealand,' Burkhart said, and the Government allowed them to release some crayfish being held in tanks back to the sea.

'We did the best we could in the time we had.'

The past few months, they had been harvesting 'basically zero', he said.

But the first small consignment was sent by air freight in early April.

NZ King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne says accessing international markets is 'crucial' to keep their business sustainable.

'Now it's back up and running, everyone is slowly switching on,' Burkhart said.

'The demand at the moment will be up and down, but we're lucky New Zealand has got the best lobster in the world.'

Rock Lobster Industry Council chief executive Mark Edwards said export volumes were currently about half the level of previous years, but volumes and price were better than most expected a month ago.

'The government financial support and coordination of international airfreight has been very helpful at a time that is difficult for exports with the substantial reductions in international flights.

'Live rock lobster exports to China, our key market, are critically dependant on airfreight to get the animals to their destination quickly and in the best possible condition.

'The rock lobster industry was hit very hard by the effective closure of the Chinese market on 25 January, but exporters are now tentatively optimistic about the prospects for resumption of the Chinese market.'

A key issue for rock lobster exporters was the lack of domestic airfreight, and its cost, Edwards said.

'South Island exporters need to get product to Auckland, which is now the main airport of embarkation.'

New Zealand King Salmon also welcomed the Government’s announcement of a support package for increased cargo flights.

The company had made presentations to the Government and officials over the past few weeks about the loss of crucial air routes to key export markets due to the impact of Covid-19.

NZ King Salmon chief executive Grant Rosewarne said it was 'crucial' to have access to overseas markets to keep their buiness sustainable.

'With the cancellation of the majority of passenger air routes out of New Zealand, a key challenge for us has been access to air freight to send our salmon to our main markets in North America and Japan.

'The government has worked tirelessly with industry to find a solution to support Kiwi producers to maintain their export businesses.

'We’re already fulfilling all the demand from our New Zealand customers, but we also have salmon available to deliver to customers internationally who are equally eager for our products, particularly for the meal delivery and online retail segments.'

Air New Zealand would receive the bulk of the package operating 37 of the 56 weekly flights.

Freightways would get 10, China Airlines two, Emirates four, Tasman Cargo one, and Qantas two.