Dynamic Export

Port Hedland was closed down early yesterday morning due to potentially rough seas associated with category-four Cyclone Laurence, the port authority said. Port Hedland Harbour Master Lindsay Copeman said while the storm was not forecast to come close to the port, the decision had been taken to close the port as a precaution. All ships [...]

More than 40 activists, identifying themselves as belonging to protest group Rising Tide Newcastle, stopped a coal train on Sunday, chaining themselves to it and the rail tracks to effectively close the line at Newcastle. “A number of arrests have been made,” a police spokesperson said in a statement. Rising Tide Newcastle claim 23 people [...]

Looming industrial action by British Airways (BA) staff could affect the travel plans of Australians flying with Qantas to Britain. BA staff voted to strike for 12 days over the holiday season to dispute job cuts and salaries. If the stoppage goes ahead from next Tuesday as planned, up to a million passengers could be [...]

The NSW Farmers Association has called for the establishment of a grower-controlled not-for-profit entity to control the export of Australian wheat. The Association says a grower-controlled wheat export marketing company, together with a national wheat pool, will allow them to borrow money far more easily from financial institutions. Multiple exporters would be involved and a [...]

Qantas have announced they will increase international fares by up to five percent this week, a strong indication that the era of heavily discounted airfares is coming to an end. In its first international fare increase since June last year, Qantas will put up first class and business class fares by three percent on Friday. [...]

Dubbo Mayor Allan Smith yesterday urged the sheep meat industry to end live exports to protect jobs in Australian abattoirs. Following the announcement of job losses from the Fletcher International meat processing plant, where managing director Roger Fletcher was forced to axe 300 jobs due to insufficient demand, Smith spoke in support of the company. [...]

The price of air travel is set to rise, if sweeping reform proposed by Britain’s Committee on Climate Change (COCC) is adopted by the countries attending the climate change conference in Copenhagen. Delegates are being told that air travel costs must rise as countries meet the challenges of reducing carbon emissions and preventing temperatures from [...]

Australia’s trade balance has slipped further into the red as exports declined by three percent in October. Imports haven’t fared much better, slumping by one percent over the same period. The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ seasonally adjusted figures show a deficit of $2.38 billion for the month, a large increase from last month’s $1.85 billion [...]

A Tasmanian farmers’ lobby group is seeking emergency federal funding for struggling dairy farmers. The Farmers and Graziers Association says 40 farmers have received State Government grants of $5,000 to purchase fodder and improve their paddocks. But the association’s Chris Oldfield says it has exhausted the state’s emergency assistance fund and he has had to [...]

The European financial markets took a nosedive overnight, exacerbating earlier losses as traders hesitated due to concerns about the Dubai crisis and another credit downgrade for Greece. “It is apparent that Dubai’s issues are not yet properly assessed, let alone dealt with,” said David Morrison, analyst with trading firm GFT. “On top of this, Greece’s [...]