Do you import or export?

We invite you to join a discussion with those overseeing the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM), the State Government of Victoria, Global Victoria and BioMelbourne Network members.

Given that the current reduced airfreight model is likely to be in place until the middle of next year, IFAM funding has been secured until then to help keep international supply chains open*. In this session, IFAM will present further details on the mechanism, how it works and how importers/exporters can best work with freight forwarders.

Please note that this session is not simply a general information session. IFAM are seeking direct and immediate feedback from the sector on a forward projection of needs and demands and overall interest in being involved.

Type of information that may be useful include:

• Destinations, volumes & frequency that are causing issues
• Expected forecast demands for air flights across your top international markets for the remainder of 2020 and interest in having more direct flights in/ out of Melbourne
• Profitability versus price of airfreight, in the current environment (e.g can higher costs be absorbed? Or at what point do you just not export products)

You will not be required to provide detailed freight and logistics detail during the session, general overviews are sufficient (but the more information we have, the better prepared we can be to state our case).

Event Details

Date: Friday 6 November 2020
Time: 9:00 – 10:00 am AEDT
Format: Delivered via a virtual platform –  a link to join will be received via email prior to the session.
Registration: Open to all – please express your interest to attend using the link below.

Speakers and Format

This session is being facilitated by AusTrade. By registering below, you consent to BioMelbourne Network sharing your registration details with AusTrade to provide access to this session (if required). 

During the session we will hear from Australian Government officials representing IFAM and Global Victoria. We will also have a panel representing a range of sub-sectors of the Health Industry. All participants will be able to engage with the program through online Q&A, facilitated by Jeff Malone.

• IFAM will be represented by Mr Michael Byrne, International Freight Co-ordinator General and Air Vice-Marshal Margaret Staib AM CSC, Australian Government Freight Controller.

*It is important to note that the primary purpose of IFAM is around providing access to air freight space rather than directly compensating the increased costs of air freight. The funding for IFAM is limited and there should be no expectations that flight availability will change overnight.   Companies should be planning and implementing adjustments around these constraints. For example, those in the Agricultural sector have collaborated to consolidate shipments and work together to get access to cargo space. There are requirements for shipments to be optimised in terms of pallets loads, so coordination and consolidation of small quantity shipments will be important.