"coronavirus" impact at the Border - Update 2

Following on from our earlier updates on issues that may impact cargoes once they arrive, potential delays at container terminals, along with concerns with border processing due to the possible lack of commercial and regulatory paperwork (ChAFTA and Quarantine paperwork) due to the closure of offices for an extended period in China.

Our latest information is that we believe the Chinese government is extending the holiday period till February 15. Interestingly we also typically see a slow recovery after Chinese New Year (CNY) as the factories return to operation.

Industry sources advise that they would expect most of February to be affected especially for the extended closures and also those airlines who have removed significant Passenger flights/routes until further notice (see HERE). Cargo flights have also been affected but only in line with typical CNY volume drops. At this stage Cargo flights will be expected back into China during the latter part of February once the factories start-up again. We are advised that most Forwarding companies that are still operating during this period are encouraging staff to work from home wherever possible to limit the 1:1 contact with others.

Concern was also expressed by one of our members seeking guidance for their group freight/logistics teams on the risk of team members exposure to live coronavirus particles from goods imported directly from China (including sea and air).  A number of their divisions import goods directly out of Hubei province, and they were concerned with the destuffing of cargo and risks associated with live virus particles on hard surface cargo. 

Freight & Trade Alliance (FTA) approached the Department of Agriculture and they advised there were a number of border workers fact sheets available and also referred enquiries to www.health.gov.au

The impact is also being felt in our export markets, in particular the WA crayfish industry which has placed all deliveries on hold for the current period.

FTA have also communicated with the Global Shippers Forum to seek any advice / information they have on likely impacts to shipping and downstream trade / economic impacts.

NOTE: Further to our commentary in our initial campaign as regards the use of Certificates of Origin, FTA raised the matter with the Australian Border Force (ABF) and yesterday received a telephone call to address our concerns. We expect to have a formal response from them shortly.

FTA will continue to advise members on pertinent updates as they come to hand.