MTF Logistics Pty Ltd blog

Australia Working to Double Horticulture Exports

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:22:48 GMT

The Australian horticulture industry is working to double the value of exports by 2031. The industry has launched Strategy 2031 with the ambition to grow exports to A$7 billion by 2031.

Industry stakeholders developed the strategy through extensive consultation. The horticultural industry set out a long-term direction for investment in productivity, innovation, grower capability, and market access.

Brett Fifield, CEO of Hort Innovation, reports that export growth has emerged as one of the strongest themes from discussions with growers and industry stakeholders. Australian horticulture has a reputation for quality, safety and sustainability.

The A$7 billion mark is ambitious but the industry can unlock the next phase of growth by working towards a shared goal. Fresh horticulture exports hit a record A$3.5 billion in 2024/25 marking a 13% annual increase and a 126% increase over the past ten years.

Export growth entails creating more opportunities for growers and strengthening long-term competitiveness of Australian horticulture. Increased demand for Australian horticultural produce will lead to diverse market options, stronger returns and a more resilient industry.

Global demand for premium Australian produce is on the rise. Continued investment in market access, industry capability and trade relationships will build on the current momentum over the next five years. Priority investment areas include artificial intelligence, automation, climate resilience, crop protection, and production efficiency.

Australian Exports to Iraq Post a 97.5% Drop in Q2

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:19:32 GMT

Australian exports to Iraq have recorded a sharp decline, falling to $2.2 million in the second quarter of 2026. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown the sharp downward trajectory occurring in the last three months.

Exports to Iraq were recorded at about $88 million in Q1 of 2026. However, exports dropped by $85.8 million in the second quarter marking a 97.5% decline.

In the second quarter, top export goods to Iraq by value were cheese and curd at about $1 million. Pharmaceuticals followed at a close second at $773,000 while sheep and goat meat came in at third at about $196,000. Other export goods include prepared fats and oils, spirits, liquid pumps, machine parts, measuring instruments and additive manufacturing machines.

Container Shipping Calls for Action on Lithium Battery Cargo Loophole

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:17:37 GMT

The liner shipping lobby group at the World Shipping Council (WSC) is calling on governments to do away with a loophole that allow lithium battery cargo in containers. It has termed the loophole as dangerous since it allows goods with lithium batteries to be classified as ordinary cargo without notifying carriers.

Special Provision 188 of the International Maritime Dangerous Goods Code is the offending clause. Smaller batteries are exempt from dangerous goods rule with no limit specified on how many can be consolidated inside a single container.

The risk of container fires has intensified for the third consecutive year with lithium batteries being the most serious emerging risk.

A container carrying 4,200 laptops holds about 416 kWh of energy, the equivalent of 3 or 4 electric vehicles, without the requirement for dangerous goods documentation.

Joe Kramek, WSC president and CEO, has said that the SP188 exemption was intended to simplify transport of goods with smaller batteries but not to make entire container loads invisible. The loophole around the SP188 exemption will come up for debate at the IMO’s cargo and container sub-committee in London.

Prevention needs to be move further up the chain with dangerous goods screened and declared at booking and not after loading. The risk of shipping lithium batteries will them be properly managed.

About 50% of Vessels Delayed at the Busiest Ports in Asia

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:14:59 GMT

The typhoon season is wreaking havoc across East Asia and has caused massive disruptions to container shipping and port operations. Typhoon Saudel made landfall on 28 August forcing the ports of Shanghai and Ningbo-Zhoushan to suspend operations for the third time in as many months.

Congestion at the busiest Asian ports is at very high levels leading to a decline in on-time vessel arrivals. Shanghai and Ningbo, two of the largest container ports in the world, have been hit by consecutive typhoons this year causing severe delays.

As a result, reliability at Ningbo has fallen by 20.1% while the situation in Shanghai has been described as particularly alarming. Only 21% of vessels are arriving on time at port in Shanghai for the month of July. This is the lowest recorded level for schedule reliability at Shanghai in 14 years of recorded data. Another pronounced drop in reliability was recorded at Singapore, the world’s largest transshipment hub.

Worsening delays at major Asian ports has led to a 6.1% drop in schedule reliability in July, the single largest decline since the height of COVID pandemic in January 2021.

The severe delays will cause backlogs that will affect global supply chains. Port congestion in Asia has pushed container lines into returning to the Red Sea and Suez Canal for the first time in two-and-a-half years.

Australia’s Plastic Waste Exports a Problem in Indonesia

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:12:02 GMT

Australia’s plastic waste export is causing environmental problems in Indonesia. In 2023-24, Australia exported 22,333 metric tons of plastic waste to Indonesia alone.

Australia is contributing to big waste crisis in Indonesia. Indonesia took in more than 200,000 metric tons of imported waste that it can’t handle safely. Approximately 80% of the plastic waste ends up being burned or dumped.

In addition to the environmental challenges, babies are exposed to plastic-derived pollutants even before they are born. People living near burning sites are getting elevated rates of respiratory disease, cardiovascular conditions, and even cancer.

Over-Reliance on Seafood Imports Calls for Regulatory Reforms

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:07:51 GMT

Australia has one of the world’s largest fishing zones but only produces just a small share of the global seafood quantities. Australia produces just a small 0.14% of global seafood despite its large share of fishing zones.

Over the last six decades, global seafood consumption has increased to currently provide approximately 20% of the world’s annual protein intake. Australia’s contribution to seafood production is paltry compared to China’s 36%, Indonesia’s 7% and Vietnam’s 5% contribution.

Australia’s dependence on imported seafood particularly low-cost products is shifting environmental and social impact elsewhere. A good number of producing nations have weaker environmental and ethical oversight frameworks.

Fisheries and aquaculture in these nations can be ecologically intensive amplifying negative impact on marine species, marine ecosystems, and livelihoods.

Stakeholders call for coordinated action including increased investment in domestic commercial fishing and aquaculture as well as robust regulatory reforms that balance sustainable production against economic viability.

Air Cargo Demand Grows 6% in August

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 02:05:30 GMT

Global air cargo demand grew in August with volumes increasing 6% year-on-year. Shippers have to contend with higher freight rates seeing that air cargo demand shows marked resilience.

Global air cargo spot rates in August were at an average $3.13 per kg which is 24% higher year-on-year. Even though the rate of growth has eased over three consecutive months, spot rates have remained high.

Shippers want to push rates even lower just to enjoy some reprieve. On the other hand, airlines will hope the rates can hold at current levels at least until the busier months arrive.

Shippers are focused on buying more capacity on the short-term market buying time to see if the downward pressure on spot rates delivers budgetary relief. Growth of demand against supply and rising jet fuel prices mean that the decrease will come in small steps.

Falling ecommerce exports after removal of EU’s €150 duty-free threshold for low value goods on 1 July is attributed to the dropping rates. The reaction is expected to be short-lived with China’s ecommerce exports expected to recover.

Air cargo spot rates have taken divergent paths across different corridors. Corridor-level rates are determined by supply and demand rather than fuel prices.

Lower Import Tariff for Australian Ground Beef Doesn’t Change Much

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 01:54:56 GMT

The US President, Donald Trump, announced a temporary removal of ground beef duties. The lifting of tariffs will last 90 days and provide access for 300,000 metric tonnes of beef.

The 25% reduction of ground beef cost is aimed at US consumers. Australian beef producers and exporter stand to benefit too from the removal of duties. However, the impact of the removal of the tariff will be minimal as countries in will ship into the next quota year.

The major concern for Australian beef exporters and producers is the ongoing super-saturation of the US imported lean trim market by Brazil. Prices of lean beef in the US have been dragged down by the excess volumes. Australian lean beef cannot compete competitively in current market due to the depressed prices.

Tug Capsizes While Assisting MSC Container Ship in Busan

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 01:51:18 GMT

A tug boat has capsized while assisting a container ship off the coast of Busan, South Korea. One crew member was reported to have died and another six members are missing.

The 286-ton tug TNS Catcher had eight crew members at the time of the incident. One Indonesian crew member was rescued by the same container ship involved in the operation. Another crew member was rescued unconscious from the water and was later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The MSC Ikaria VI, a Liberia-flagged container ship operated by MSC, encountered challenges at Songjeong Port near Busan. Three tugboats were working together to manoeuvre the 66,332-to container ship at the time of the accident.

Investigations will uncover if towline tension contributed to the unfortunate accident. Investigators are looking at the tug’s speed and timing during the change of direction, and towline force to determine what caused the tug to capsize. A collision between the tug and the container ship has been ruled out in preliminary findings.

A search operation is underway to locate the six missing crew members. Authorities have deployed more than 24 vessels and 7 aircrafts to help in search efforts.

Port Congestion Has Taken 2-3m TEU Off Container Shipping Market

Daniel — Wed, 16 Sep 2026 01:43:56 GMT

Port congestion is a never-ending challenge for the container shipping market. Vessels have to spend more and more time waiting for the next available berth.

Congestion has led to the deterioration vessel waiting times and shipping schedule reliability. These are two critical factors in the global container shipping market.

Typhoons have affected Chinese ports making vessels wait for an average 3.6 days for a berth spot. Climate conditions are creating immediate backlogs but the greater concern is how quickly a port can recover.

Average waiting times for container ships have doubled from between 2019 and 2026. Average time that container ships spend at port has increased b 31% between 2019 and 2026. The extra time translates into vessel delays, missed connections, rolled bookings, and uncertain delivery dates.

Congestion at ports around the world is attributed to insufficient container port capacity. Container volumes have increased by 28% whereas terminal capacity has increased by 21% between 2019 and 2026. Pressure on existing infrastructure at a time ports are operating at high utilization leads to congestion. With high utilization levels, ports struggle to handle a small disruption.

Australian importers and exporters must be aware that congestion overseas will have far reaching consequences even back home. Vessel delays may mean containers miss planned connections, are rolled to another sailing, and changing arrival dates.

Importers and exporters need to predict impending congestion before it occurs by identifying area of exposure in the supply chain. Planning will help build resilience and flexibility that balance competing priorities.