A record $137.3 million worth of South Australian lobsters took to the skies out of Adelaide airport last year as air freight returned in a big way to the region.
The first release of ABS export stats for 2026 ((Australian Bureau of Statistics (November 2025), International Trade in Goods)) shows $351.1 million worth of goods left South Australia in planes over the past year – more than double the lows experienced due to the pandemic’s impact on global aviation.
The new figures also reveal a year-on-year tripling of South Australian lobster exports – an increase of $95.0 million or 225 per cent.
These results come after coordinated efforts by the State Government and Adelaide Airport to grow the number of wide-bodied aircraft departing our state each week.
It has seen more wide-bodied passenger jets like the Airbus A350 and Boeing-787 Dreamliner utilising the airport, and bringing with them the cargo capacity of about 15-tonnes, allowing products from seafood, dairy and fruit, through to fashion, to get directly into key markets.
SA Trade and Investment Minister Joe Szakacs says at the time his party came to Government, direct flights from Adelaide to the world had reached rock bottom.
“We knew we had a monumental task ahead of us to recover what we had lost, and to expand beyond that. So, it’s pleasing to see Adelaide Airport air freight and lobster exports surging to all-time highs.
“These achievements don’t happen by accident. They are the result of consistent hard work undertaken by our Government and airport to provide our state’s incredible exporters with access to priority markets in which to sell their world-class products.
“We’re ahead of where we had projected we would be, but that doesn’t mean we’ll reduce our efforts.”
For South Australian exporter Ferguson Australia, that specialises in the sale of southern rock lobster, access to more air freight has been a big win.
Ferguson shifts lobsters to regions including China, Hong Kong, the United States, Singapore and Europe.
While the local company has previously sent live lobster to San Francisco, it has been forced to route its product through Singapore. This detour adds more than 6,000km plus hours on the tarmac, with the additional time adding unneeded risk to the venture.
Ferguson Australian managing director Andrew Ferguson says the extra flights out of Adelaide have bolstered his company’s export capabilities.
“As a business dependent on niche global markets for our highly perishable live product, expanded flight destinations from Adelaide significantly strengthen our export capabilities,” Ferguson says.
“Minimising time between live tanking and delivery is critical. The new flight options becoming available from Adelaide are a game changer for our operations.”
Adelaide Airport will have 13 airlines flying directly from Adelaide to North America, the Middle East, China and Southeast Asia from the middle of this year when China Eastern joins other big players including Qatar, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific, China Southern, Emirates and United.