Analysis Cattle & Beef
China lifts Australian beef export restrictions
China has lifted the import restrictions on the last two major Australian abattoirs. This allows all major slaughterhouses to export beef to the Asian country again.
Between 2020 and 2022, China decided to impose restrictions on ten beef slaughterhouses after Australia called for an independent investigation into the cause of the Covid pandemic. China had already phased out the export restrictions for the rest of the slaughterhouses earlier this year.
Significant impact
The current Labour government is claiming victory. According to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, a lot of effort has been put into achieving this result, which is good for the sector, employment, and the trade balance. Although trade between 2020 and 2022 was not completely halted, as other Australian processors were not subject to restrictions, the importance of this step is considerable.
China is the second largest market for Australian beef. Normally, China is the largest importer, but the United States currently imports more Australian beef due to drought conditions in that country. In 2019, the year before the import restrictions, Australia exported 206,800 tons of beef to China. In 2022, the volume had decreased to 158,000 tons, partly due to the restrictions.
