Seafood Industry

683 The Hon. Z.L. BETTISON (Ramsay) (25 August 2021). How is the government supporting the seafood exports industry after an approximate decrease of 33 per cent since 2019 as per the SA overseas goods exports figures and how many jobs are at risk from this decrease?

The Hon. S.J.R. PATTERSON (Morphett—Minister for Trade and Investment): I have been advised the following:

On the latest data to July 2021, I am advised that South Australian seafood exports by value have fallen 6.8 per cent since 2018-19.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data for combined seafood processing and fishing, shows an 8 per cent increase in average employment for the 12 months to May 2021 compared to the year to May 2019. The labour force data estimated 2114 jobs in the year to May 2021.

Most of the falls in seafood exports reflect losses in southern rock lobster exports.

China was the largest export market with 97 per cent of this South Australian premium product being air-freighted live to China.

The decrease in seafood exports was initially impacted by the COVID-19 outbreak that resulted in difficulty accessing China in early 2020, followed by the widescale grounding of flights and then most critically, China’s effective blockage of SRL from November 2020.

The Department for Trade and Investment (DTI) has worked with the Australian government to ensure industry could access the International Freight Assistance Mechanism (IFAM). IFAM is a temporary, targeted, emergency support measure put in place by the Australian Government to keep global air links open in response to the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

More recently, IFAM has provided strong support to the annual export of tuna to Japan.

Latest trade data for July shows that 4427 tonnes of South Australian southern bluefin tuna was exported, valued at A$55.4 million to Japan.

The Marshall Liberal government’s international office network has been critical to providing support to the seafood industry particularly in relation to market diversification options, providing in-market information and connections to potential buyers.

DTI has also introduced a range of grant programs available to the industry that seafood producers are able to apply for: the Global Expansion Program, the e-Commerce Accelerator Program and the South Australian Export Accelerator Program.

The Marshall Liberal government will continue to support South Australia’s fishing industry through our export programs and services, including efforts to diversify markets.