According to Bloomberg News on February 19, Australia's barley sales to China have soared since China lifted tariffs on Australian barley six months ago, highlighting the energy of this huge market. At the same time, the Australian wine industry is preparing for the possible end of China's restrictive measures. Beijing previously announced it would reassess tariffs on Australian wine, with a decision expected next month.
In December 2023, China's imports reportedly accounted for 90% of Australia's barley exports – China's anti-dumping and countervailing duties on barley originating in Australia were only terminated in August 2023.
The rapid return of China as a major buyer of Australian barley has cast doubt on the effectiveness of Canberra's efforts to diversify its export market over the past three years. Andrew Whitelaw, Australian-based agricultural consultancy of Episode III, said: "For a single country, 90 per cent is a huge ...... of purchasesActually, I was a little surprised that they reached this magnitude so quickly. ”
According to the report, Whitelaw believes that Australia's newly opened markets under the diversification strategy "will be remembered" given that Chinese buyers are willing to pay a lot of money for barley. While China's return is welcome, its dominance does highlight the difficulties Australian producers face in finding alternative markets to mitigate geopolitical risks.
Ahead of the possible removal of tariffs on Australian wines, industry representatives and observers said there were already rumours that Chinese buyers were returning to Australia, either by pre-ordering or by visiting vineyards everywhere to close deals. (Compiled by Liu Xiaoyan).
*: Reference message.