China's ban on South African wool exports through FMD concerns is sure to send a shiver through the Australian wool industry as well.
South Africa is battling numerous foot and mouth disease outbreaks inside the country but managed to negotiate agreements with trading partners on exports of "safe commodities".
Those originally considered safe were heat-treated meat and dairy products, deboned and matured beef, scoured wool, salted hides and skins and livestock embryos.
In light of the recent outbreaks, China and Mozambique have implemented trade restrictions which South African farm organisations claim is unjustifiable.
Like Australia, most of the South African wool clip is traditionally bought by China's big wool processors, between 70-80 per cent of the clip.
Australia exports almost 90 per cent of its enormous clip to China which makes it the most heavily reliant agricultural commodity on that country.
Agri SA and the National Wool Growers' Association of South Africa say they are "extremely concerned" about the China ban,
That country's first wool auction for the 2022/23 season is scheduled for August 17.
The South African wool clip is valued at about $A430 million per year.
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The industry estimates since the the ban was imposed in April, the South African wool industry has lost an estimated $A63 million in wool exports to China.
The ban also threatens the livelihoods of the South African industry's 35,000 workers as well as 4500 seasonal sheep shearers and wool handlers.
Australia's exposure to China was valued at about A$2 billion in 2019-20.
The South African farm organisations claim the ban was unwarranted as South Africa had protocols in place to regulate the storage of wool after shearing for a specified time at required minimum temperatures as stipulated by the World Organisation of Animal Health.
They say these measures were negotiated with Chinese authorities during the 2019 outbreak to limit the disruption to trade in circumstances such as the current one.
South Africa says no FMD outbreaks have been recorded in recognised wool producing areas nor have any small stock been diagnosed with FMD.
"More than 40,000 small scale producers and surrounding communities will fall back into poverty should the Chinese market remain closed for wool from South Africa,"Agri SA executive director Christo van der Rheede and NWGA CEO Leon de Beer said.