Government business enterprise that provides postal services in Australia won’t deliver perishable food items anymore.
The government-run postal service Australia Post will cease the delivery of various perishable items and small goods which will hurt producers, reports ABC.
The move, which will come into force on June 30, has angered producers who pivoted to online delivery during the pandemic.
Australia Post blamed the “complex requirements” in the country’s different states and territories for the decision which will see it stop no longer carrying items such as meats, frozen meals, seafood and more.
Ben Pyka from the land-based salmon farm 41° South Tasmania, told the publication that he sends around “AUD 80,000 (EUR 51,000 .ed) to AUD 100,000 (EUR 64,500 .ed) worth of freight in the mail with Australia Post per year”.
At the site, there are twenty fresh-water ponds which at any one-time house around 10,000 Tasmanian Atlantic Salmon in various stages of grow-out. The smallest are 10 cm in length and the salmon are generally harvested at a length of about 45cm.
The fish live in freshwater sourced from the nearby Montana Falls.
“We as a business community had a meeting with Australia Post and suggested that they ask for a 12-month reprieve or moratorium, and that they go to each state regulator and have an open discussion about how to get this sorted,” said Pyka.
“The government has been pushing to buy online and use COVID-safe delivery, so everyone is spending thousands upgrading their systems and now the only carrier specifically for Tasmanians – that has a door-to-door reach for all of Australia – can’t do that now.”
Australia Post told the publication that it was “working with customers and industry regulators to determine a path forward”.
