New Zealand: Food shipping affected by stringent lockdown controls

ENTERING RECOVERY PHASE

Food shipping affected by stringent lockdown controls.

COVID-19 in New Zealand (NZ) remains well under control. Nevertheless, concerns over a more severe variant of COVID-19 caused a lockdown in Auckland until 6 March.
That control comes at a cost – stringent control of people, goods and services entering NZ has led to congestion at the border. NZ food imports, particularly those shipped via sea, have been affected. Air freight has also been greatly impacted. Flights fell from 500 a week to as low as 20 a week. The current number of 130 remains far from full capacity. Other vulnerabilities, like communication gaps between the Port of Auckland and other ports and rail, were also raised. Adding to that concern, global shipping firms tend to bypass NZ on their shipping routes.
There are plans for a travel bubble between New Zealand and Australia, but NZ will release more details only in April.