THE TRADE tensions between China and Australia continue to escalate with Western Australian grain exporter CBH confirming it has received notification it was suspended from exporting barley to China from September 1.
China has reportedly alleged repeated contamination of barley with quarantine restricted pests in CBH shipments, a charge the cooperative giant strenuously rejects.
"The CBH has been advised by the Australian Government that CBH Grain has been suspended from exporting barley to China, effective from 1 September 2020," a CBH spokesperson said.
"CBH has not found any evidence to support these claims," she said.
"CBH confirms that all grain shipments to China have met all government phytosanitary export requirements and is therefore very disappointed to hear of the suspension."
There has been no official confirmation of what the pests are but in the past the major breaches have been for the presence of weed seeds such as brome grass and wild oats.
It is the latest move by China in an increasingly bitter trade war with Australia.
The initial blow was a hefty tariff on Aussie barley exports due to alleged dumping of product on the Chinese market followed by imposts in the wine, also for dumping and meat sectors for purported labelling breaches.
For its part, Australia has banned the sale of a dairy to Chinese interests and introduced legislation that gives the federal government the powers to ban agreements from both the public and private sector with foreign nations if it feels that the deals are against the national interest.
In the ag space China has a long history of stopping trade based on non-tariff measures (NTMs) such as a long running dispute over alleged blackleg in canola shipments and herbicide residues in cereal crops or the labelling breaches it claimed in meat consignments.
It has frustrated the Aussie ag sector which believes the measures are not being used as designed but rather as a method of distorting trade.
Gregor Heard
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
Gregor Heard is ACM's national grains industry reporter, based in Horsham, Victoria. He has a wealth of knowledge surrounding the cropping sector through his 15 years in the role. Prior to that he was with the Fairfax network as a reporter with Stock & Land. Some of the major issues he has reported on during his time with the company include the deregulation of the export wheat market, the introduction of genetically modified crops and the fight to protect growers better from grain trader insolvencies. Still involved with the family farm he is passionate about rural Australia and its people and hopes to use his role to act as an advocate for those involved in the grain sector.
