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China-Australia relations: Canberra questions delay of grape exports
- Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan says fruit shipped to China is stuck at the border in yet another sign of deteriorating relations
- China is Australia’s largest trading partner and despite the tensions in recent months trade volumes have held up
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Australia is looking into the cause of a hold-up of grape exports to China, with Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Dan Tehan saying around 20 per cent of the fruit shipped to the mainland is stuck at the border in yet another sign of deteriorating relations.
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“We’re trying to work out what is the cause of the hold-up,” Tehan told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in an interview published on Thursday.
“I’ve been in discussions with the industry around what they’re seeing and what they’re hearing and we also have our post talking to Chinese officials about this.”
Bilateral ties have sunk to their lowest point in decades after Prime Minister Scott Morrison led calls for a global inquiry into the origins of the coronavirus, angering China which has since restricted imports of Australian products such as barley, cotton, wine and lobsters.
We don’t want to jump to any conclusions. We want to get to the bottom of it
China is Australia’s largest trading partner and despite the tensions in recent months trade volumes have held up, largely supported by strong prices for iron ore – the single biggest item in trade with China.
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