China, though, is less dependent on Australia particularly for barley and beef having groomed other sources, in particular Canada, which now ranks China as its top barley export market. In 2017/18 the WA grains industry exported wheat worth $2.83 billion and barley … The organisations making this statement and Australian barley exporters will continue to co-operate with the Chinese Government and work closely with the Australian Government.”, Joint statement from Grains Industry Market Access Forum, Australian Grain Exporters Council, GrainGrowers, Grain Producers Australia and Grain Trade Australia, Grain Central: Get our free daily cropping news straight to your inbox – Click here, Your email address will not be published. This is an important market for WA growers, with no ready alternatives. University of New South Wales economics professor Richard Holden said Australia’s large export dependence on China left it vulnerable to changes in the global superpower’s economic policies and market conditions. While we have a long and valued relationship with our Chinese barley customers spanning over 50 years, we have been working hard to establish and strengthen other barley markets for WA growers. Meanwhile, UTS Australia-China Relations Institute director James Laurenceson and project and research officer Michael Zhou argue in a recent blog post: “A significant trade exposure to China is not, in itself, compelling evidence that Australian businesses have been irresponsible in their risk management, nor that the country as a whole is ‘too dependent’.”. It is understood MOFCOM may provide their final determination on, or before 19 May 2020. As for barley, at least half of the nation’s exports typically end up in the Middle Kingdom, as part of an annual trade that was worth $1.5 billion in 2018 and $915.4 million in drought-affected 2019. In 2018, Australia sold $1.5 billion worth of barley to China but the drought and China's allegations of dumping saw the value of the trade fall to $600 million last year. This appears to have caught some domestic market consumers napping … China’s modern malting plants have an intrinsic preference for Australian barley. China … Australia is a dominant player in world barley export markets, representing 30-40 percent of the world’s malting barley trade and 20 percent of the feed barley trade. The trade came to … Western Australian barley exports to China were valued at $805 million in 2018-19. Around 88 per cent of Australia’s barley exports to China come from WA. China has ignored Australia's attempts to discuss trade tensions over beef and barley imports, and state governments fear they could become the meat in … Calls to diversify Australian exports following a diplomatic blowup with China represent “peak stupidity,” according to one prominent economist. Your email address will not be published. Western Australian barley exports to China were valued at $805 million in 2018-19. Beijing slapped an 80 per cent tariff on imports of a number of Australian crops, including malting barley. The meat export freeze follows China's threats to impose severe anti-dumping tariffs on Australian barley exports, worth $600 million due to drought last year. Australia produces two-row spring barley that is plump and bright with moderate protein content. Australia's barley exports to China were worth $600 million in 2019, falling from $1.5 billion in 2018 because of drought and an effort to diversify into more markets. Our barley producers operate in a competitive global market without any trade distorting subsidies and price their products in an entirely commercial way. Get The New Daily free every morning and evening. China and Australia do not always see eye to eye when it comes to issues including human rights, or Chinese activity in the South China Sea. Australian winemakers have reported their most valuable yearly export trade since 2007, with China spending more on a smaller volume of wine. Mr Koukoulas told The New Daily it was “an observable fact” there is an economic issue with our “heavy trade dependence on China”. Since the 1990s, Australia and China have built a strong relationship around barley. The Western Australian Government has always maintained good relationships with China as our major trading partner, and we will be making direct contact with the Chinese Consul General on the matter. China is Australia’s largest barley market, with exports worth $1.5 billion in 2018, although that figure more than halved in 2019 due to the drought. Although the proposed tariff on our barley exports is linked to an 18-month-old dispute, China’s actions came after Australia called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus – prompting calls for more economic diversification. “The Australian barley industry understands the People’s Republic of China, Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) are potentially proposing to place tariffs on barley imported from Australia as a result of their ongoing anti-dumping and countervailing duties investigations. Your comment will not appear until it has been moderated. It has also banned imports from four abattoirs for allegedly failing to meet Chinese health standards – an “informal retaliation” that provides the Chinese government with plausible deniability against “accusations of explicit economic bullying,” according to academics from the Australian National University. China is the biggest source of tourists to Australia. In 2019, Australia exported 300,133 tonnes swt of boxed beef, worth A$2.67 billion. We have worked with the Australian grains industry to mount the strongest possible case against China’s anti-dumping investigation. Barley exporters, faced with a $500 million hit this year after being shut out of China, have done the same thing but they are further down the road. Australia will reserve all rights to continue to defend the interests of our barley producers.”, Australian Minister for Trade Simon Birmingham. China has since blacklisted four Australian abattoirs and threatened to slap an 80 per cent tariff on barley imports. Soaking rain in New South Wales means that state is likely to supply its own and some of Queensland’s feedgrain demand. In early 2018, China announced an investigation into United States sorghum which prompted the Chinese Government to impose an import duty of 178.6 per cent on the grain. Breaking that down to malt and non-malting barley, around 1.3 million tonnes of malting barley, and around 4.2 million tonnes of non-malting barley are also exported each year, though these figures vary from season to season. Australian producers exported about $3.16bn in unprocessed wool to China in 2018-19, which represents a larger value and industry reliance on China than barley. Whilst Australia respects China’s right, as with any nation, to undertake domestic investigations into anti-dumping matters, we do not accept that there is a prima facie case, let alone a conclusive case, to find dumping by or subsidy of Australian producers. 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