by PressCanadian barley broke sales records due to China’s toughness
How Canadian barley benefited from the China-Australia conflict
Problems in diplomatic relations between Australia and China have significantly affected trade between the countries. As a result, Beijing practically refused to supply Australian grain, although before it was the largest importer. This situation has played into the hands of other agricultural producers, for example, Canadian barley has become in high demand in China.
Last year, China imposed tariff restrictions on grain supplies from Australia, as well as reduced imports of beef, coal and timber. The reason for the cooling of relations between the countries, which previously worked closely together in many areas, was the statement of the Australian authorities on information about COVID-19, which Beijing provided. Canberra insisted on an investigation into the start of the pandemic, which other countries were planning to initiate. China’s reaction to this statement was almost immediate — the very next month it revised barley import tariffs, raising them several times over.
This policy of pressure from Beijing affected the markets of many countries, including Europe and North America and Asia. A number of countries have even talked about banding together to oppose China’s harsh actions.
However, not everyone has been affected by the conflict between Australia and China. For example, Canadian barley producers took advantage of the situation and increased the supply of products to China. It should be noted that this crop is widely used in many segments. Barley is the main component for the production of beer, it is used to make animal feed. But in recent years, its cultivation has declined as farmers have followed the trends of veganism and vegetarianism, which involves the consumption of lentils and peas in large quantities.
Canadian barley growers in 2020-2021 have been thoroughly rewarded for their labours. They sold more than $1 billion worth of grain for a record amount. This figure is 14% higher than the figure for 2019.
Not only the conflict between Australia and China, but also a number of other features of the past year contributed to this success. Even though entire industries were idle during the pandemic, agriculture continued to work because its products are vital to humanity. Harvests were high and world market prices went up sharply due to increased demand from the PRC. Canadian farmers did not hesitate long to start actively selling products to China, which was actively buying grain to feed the growing number of pigs and other animals. In the first quarter of this year alone, the volume of shipments from Canada increased by 175% compared to the same period in 2020 and amounted to 290 million dollars.