On November 27, 2023, it was reported that Australian barley is returning to the Chinese market on a large scale after Beijing lifted punitive tariffs that caused a three-year trade interruption.
Customs data shows that China imported nearly 314000 tons of grain from Australia last month, marking the first import since the end of 2020 and the highest purchase volume since May this year. With the efforts of diversified suppliers, China’s barley imports from Russia and Kazakhstan have also flourished.
China is Australia’s largest barley export market, with a trade volume of AUD 1.5 billion (USD 990 million) from 2017 to 2018. In 2020, China imposed over 80% anti-dumping tariffs on Australian barley, prompting Chinese beer and feed producers to turn to markets such as France and Argentina, while Australia expanded its sales of barley to markets such as Saudi Arabia and Japan.
However, the Labour government, which had a more friendly attitude towards China, came to power and improved the relationship between the two countries. In August, China lifted Australia’s anti-dumping tariffs, opening the door for Australia to regain market share.
Customs data shows that Australia’s new sales mean it accounted for about a quarter of China’s imported barley last month. This makes it the second largest supplier in the country, second only to France, which accounts for approximately 46% of China’s procurement volume.
Other countries are also increasing their efforts to enter the Chinese market. The import volume from Russia in October more than doubled compared to the previous month, reaching about 128100 tons, a 12 fold increase year-on-year, setting the highest data record since 2015. The total import volume from Kazakhstan is nearly 119000 tons, which is also the highest during the same period.
Beijing has been working hard to increase food imports from neighboring Russia and Central Asian countries, in order to diversify sources and reduce dependence on some Western suppliers.
Post time: Dec-01-2023