Freight assistance
TO support Pacific exporters in the wake of COVID-19, Pacific Trade Invest Australia launched the COVID-19 Freight Assistance Package in late 2020 and has now seen more than 30 successful applicants receive the monetary grant — a maximum of $2500 per enterprise to offset freight costs incurred in 2020.
This initiative was launched based on the results of the Pacific Trade Invest (PTI) Australia’s 2020 Pacific Islands Export Survey which revealed that freight costs were one of the top three barriers to export faced by Pacific businesses, which was further exacerbated when COVID-19 drastically affected shipping routes and thus inflated costs.
In a media statement from PTI Australia, Pacific Islands Forum Secretary General, Dame Meg Taylor, said PTI Australia’s Freight Assistance Package was a proactive example of understanding and alleviating pain points facing the region’s private sector.
“PTI Australia’s Freight Assistance Package is a visible extension of the work being done by the forum. It shows a deep understanding of the challenges faced by our members and Pacific exporters, coupled with a straightforward, simple solution.
“These targeted and informed initiatives are crucial to support the economic recovery for all nations that make up our Blue Pacific,” she said.
Jeremy Grennell, PTI Australia’s general manager of export, said the feedback from the Freight Assistance Package had been overwhelmingly positive.
“We are so pleased to roll out the Freight Assistance Package and witness the incredible impact it is having on SMEs in the Pacific.
“The ongoing effects of COVID-19 have been damaging to businesses in the Pacific and businesses require tangible support – now.
“Our COVID-19 Freight Assistance Package enables us to provide immediate needed support.”
Meanwhile, it was also noted that the impact of the continued closure of international borders on Alex Hill’s glass-blowing studio, Hot Glass in Fiji, had been immense; PTI Australia’s COVID-19 Freight Assistance Package had provided the business with much-needed support and relief.
“We are really happy with the Freight Assistance Package.
“In our business, the cost of shipping and access to payment gateways are the two major handbrakes on exporting, so this initiative from PTI Australia is not just very helpful and timely, but also targets a real issue for businesses like ours,” Mr Hill said.
The package is designed to provide tangible relief to businesses in the Pacific during the unprecedented pressures the COVID-19 economic crisis has presented and it also aims to support the growth in demand for Pacific goods and services in international markets and the long-term development of eCommerce in the Blue Pacific.