by PressBarley exports from Argentina to China reach record levels
Barley exports from Argentina to China are on the rise: reasons for increased demand
Late last year, a conflict between China and Australia dramatically affected trade processes in the agricultural industry. Against the background of a sharp decline in supplies from Australia, China began to look for other options for importing grain. As a result, barley exports from Argentina to China rose to record highs.
There was a conflict between Canberra and Beijing at the diplomatic level, which spread to other areas of the relationship between the countries. First of all, the trade sector was affected. Previously Australia was the main supplier of barley, but now China has imposed a duty of 80.5% on imports of this crop. Such conditions have become disadvantageous for Canberra, and the country has reduced supplies to the minimum values. Against this background, China turned its attention to Argentina as a reliable importer, and the volume of barley purchases began to increase. According to official statistics, since the beginning of this year, Argentina has already sold 1.1 million tons of barley, and almost all of it will go to China. In addition, in the coming months, Beijing plans to increase imports by another 400 thousand tons. These figures are impressive, especially compared to last year, when the export of Argentine barley to China was only 298 thousand tons.
Due to the high demand for grain from China, Argentina had to reconsider the traditional patterns of barley sales. In previous years, a large buyer of the crop was Saudi Arabia, which used barley to feed camels. Now the eastern country has switched to imports from Australia, which, after practically leaving the Chinese market, has been looking for new sales options.
China is increasing grain imports to feed its growing pig population, which is rapidly recovering from the African plague epidemic. Hundreds of millions of animals were wiped out back then. Compounding the situation was a shortage of corn on the domestic market and high corn prices. This forced Chinese farmers to look for foreign suppliers.
Exports of barley from Argentina have already broken all records and continue to increase. During February and March alone, 500 thousand tons were shipped to China. Contracts for shipments in January 2022 have been concluded. Analysts predict that the harvest of Argentine barley in the current season will amount to 4.4 million tons. Last year it was 3.8 million tons. It is assumed that the high demand from China will last until the end of this year, which is a favorable factor for grain exporters.