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China-Australia cattle trade continues despite tensions
- Beijing has unleashed a raft of actions against Australian exports following Canberra’s push for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus
- Last week both cotton and coal were drawn into the trade dispute which has already involved beef, wine and barley
China’s allowed 3,600 cattle to enter from Australia last week, a sign that heightened tensions between the two countries have not hindered all areas of trade.
Beijing has unleashed a raft of actions against Australian exports following Canberra’s push for an independent inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus outbreak.
Australia’s cotton industry last week feared it may become the latest casualty of worsening ties after barley was hit by tariffs and wine was subjected to anti-subsidy and anti-dumping probes.
Last week, China also delayed entry of Australian thermal and coking coal shipments, and verbally discouraged power stations and steel mills from buying more Australian coal, deferring some forward orders.
China’s customs said on its official weibo account on Monday that shipment of high-quality Australian cattle for breeding stock had been cleared for entry at Qinzhou port in the southern region of Guangxi last week.
Australia was China’s top supplier of live cattle in the first seven months of the year until it was overtaken by New Zealand, official customs data showed.
A Chinese meat producer in Hainan in July imported nearly 2,000 live cattle from Australia after China suspended beef imports from four processing facilities in May, fuelling concerns that beef imports from Australia were also being restricted amid worsening relations over the coronavirus.
China imposed an anti-dumping duty over 80 per cent on Australian barley in May, and that was followed by bans on exports from five beef abattoirs due to mislabelling and contamination, and an anti-dumping investigation into cheap Australian wine exports into China.
This article appeared in the South China Morning Post print edition as: Cattle trade with Australia defies tension
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