by PressChina resumes barley imports from Australia
Why China is so interested in barley imports
China lifted restrictions on barley from Australia. Since 2020, China has imposed countervailing duties of more than 80% on imports from the country. The government explained it anti-dumping measures. Now, the PRC are trying to establish communication. And the first success was the import of barley from Australia. At the same time, China continues to pursue its strategy of food self-sufficiency.
Sources of tension between China and Australia
For many decades, the PRC paid little attention to developing barley production. China has been importing grain since the 1960s. And by 2020, it had become the world’s largest crop buyer. It importing almost 90% of total market demand. Australia was the main importer. In 2015, the PRC removed import tariffs for the supplier. By 2017, Australia’s local market share exceeded 73%. This situation resulted in the cost of Australian barley being lower than the crop price in the producing country itself.
There was dumping. And by 2017, the commodity cost in Australia was 1.2 times higher than in China. This had a negative impact on producers of the crop in the PRC and led the authorities to investigate the pricing of imports. According to the investigation, the supply of the crop from 2014 to 2018 severely damaged the development of local cultivation. As a result, the government decided to impose an anti-dumping duty of more than 73% on Australian barley in 2020. In addition, a countervailing duty of nearly 7% was in place. In total, it was necessary to pay more than 80 per cent of the price for the supplies. The legislation lasted for five years.
In 2023, however, trade relations between the two countries improved, and Australian exporters started to return to China. At the same time, the PRC has changed its approach to imports, with purchases now being diversified. It also plans to expand domestic production aggressively.
History of the Chinese barley industry
According to the local Institute of Agriculture, China produced 3.7 million tonnes of barley in 1961. This making country one of the world’s leading producers. The record harvest was in 1962 when barley production was almost 6 million tonnes. By 2020, however, barley production had fallen to 0.9 million tonnes. Because the government failed to support and subsidise farmers.
The country is now actively implementing a food security policy. It includes increasing the production of strategic crops. Among these, barley ranks 4th, but despite the grain’s importance, the industry is developing very poorly:
— barley production in 2021 was 2.1 million tonnes;
— in 2022, the crop slightly decreased.
So China is still dependent on barley imports. But does not want to repeat past mistakes and is looking for multiple suppliers.