Australian Barley Industry to See a Boost of $136 Million
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For Australian Barley farmers, removing the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties means they can resume exporting to China. The tariffs imposed by China in 2018 had effectively shut down the Australian Barley trade, costing the industry around AU$2 billion (US$1.35 billion) in lost sales. With the removal of the tariffs, Australian Barley farmers can now compete on a more level playing field with other Barley producers in the global market. The trade deal is expected to benefit the Australian economy significantly. The Barley industry is expected to see a boost of AU$200 million (US$135.87 million) per annum with the resumption of trade with China.
For Chinese buyers of Australian Barley, removing the tariffs means they can now purchase Australian Barley at a lower cost. Before the dispute, Australia supplied over 70 percent of China’s Barley imports, so this could increase demand for Australian Barley in China. With the increased demand, the price of Australian Barley could rise, which could, in turn, provide a higher income for Australian Barley farmers. As such, the trade deal could benefit both Australian farmers and Chinese buyers.
The dispute also had significant implications for businesses and individuals in both countries. Australian Barley farmers were struck by the tariffs, with many struggling to find alternative crop markets. Meanwhile, Chinese beer and livestock producers faced higher costs due to the increased price of Australian Barley, a key ingredient in their products.
The tariffs made it infeasible for Chinese importers to buy Australian Barley, halting exports to China and forcing the industry to seek other markets. The dispute over tariffs is part of broader trade and political tensions between the two countries, with China imposing restrictions on several Australian export sectors, including wine, Barley, coal, timber, and lobster. Although some progress has been made in recent months, such as the resumption of the coal trade, the wine and Barley tariff disputes have been more complex due to the involvement of the WTO.
Recently, the Board of Barley Australia announced the successful accreditation of two new varieties. Bottler and Kiwi were submitted by GrainSearch and Malteurop Australia, respectively. Both varieties were accredited as Malting Barley following the evaluation trials conducted in association with the Malting and Brewing Industry Barley Technical Committee (MBIBTC) assessment under the Barley Australia malting Barley evaluation process.
Bottler is a medium rainfall, mid-season maturity variety from GrainSearch. This is a high fermentability variety, well suited to the export market. Bottler is suited to environments where RGT Planet and Westminster are grown. Kiwi is a high rainfall variety from Malteurop, Australia. While this variety was submitted as a medium fermentability variety, its performance appears best suited to the high fermentability category. It is, therefore, well suited to both domestic and export markets. Kiwi is intended to be grown mainly in Victoria in the same environments as Westminster and Fairview.
Barley Trade in Australia
According to AgFlow data, China imported 0.2 million tons of Barley from Australia in May 2023, followed by Singapore (60,000 tons), the UAE (55,000 tons), and Japan (55,000 tons). Total exports reached 1.9 million tons in Jan-May of this year.
In 2021, Australia exported Barley worth $2 billion, making it the 1st largest exporter of Barley in the world. In the same year, Barley was Australia’s 18th most exported product. The leading destination of Barley exports from Australia is Saudi Arabia ($746 million), Japan ($279 million), Vietnam ($163 million), Thailand ($162 million), and Kuwait ($122 million).
In 2021, Australia imported Barley worth $224k in Barley, becoming the 99th largest importer of Barley in the world. Australia imports Barley primarily from: South Korea ($81.2k), China ($74.1k), the United Arab Emirates ($28.9k), Thailand ($10.9k), and France ($8.01k).
Other sources: CHINA BRIEFING
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