As relations between China and Australia continue to get worse on a range of issues, importers across Beijing are expected to brace for a round of sanctions on copper ore and copper concentrate as well as sugar this week.
The General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) has issued a notice to exporters claiming that it had found a pest in imported log timber from Queensland and has banned all log exports from the Australian state. It further claimed that it had found contamination in barley shipments from Australian grain exporter Emerald Grain as well.
As per repots, bans on copper ore and copper concentrate, as well as sugar, are expected to be introduced this week.
In September, China suspended barley imports from Australia’s largest grain exporter, CBH Group, after also detecting pests in a shipment.
In Shanghai, the Chinese customs seized a West Australian rock lobster shipment for laboratory testing. While testing is being undertaken, shipments of live lobsters have been stopped from entering China and remain quarantined in warehouses.
Australia’s trade minister, Simon Birmingham, on Monday said that the rock lobster shipments were being checked for “metal content levels” and the Australian government and industry groups were seeking further clarification from Beijing.
“We understand the concerns of the industry in this regard because of course, this type of product is high value, but also has short time frames in terms of safely delivering the product from the Australian oceans to ultimately the marketplace in which they’re sold,” he said.
“And so, it’s crucial that timelines are kept to an absolute minimum when it comes to processing … it’s important today that people don’t jump to conclusions about what these delays mean, but enable our seafood industry working together with our diplomats and agricultural representatives to ascertain exactly what the facts are and whether we will be able to resume that trade with confidence [and] that customs processing happens in a timely way,” he added.
These bans come after the strengthening of the US, India, Australia and Japan.
India, in October, had announced the participation of Australia in the upcoming Malabar exercise alongside the US and Japan. Most recently, China has been increasingly viewed negatively in recent times by most advanced economies with an unfavorable opinion of the Asian country rising most in Australia according to a new survey by Pew Research Center.