Timber, lobsters fall foul of China
Queensland timber has joined premium lobsters as the latest products denied to Chinese consumers, as political uncertainty and bark beetles disrupt supply from Australia.
Queensland timber has joined premium lobsters as the latest products denied to Chinese consumers, as political uncertainty and bark beetles disrupt supply from Australia.
An abrupt four-day hold-up at Shanghai airport has seen more than $100,000 worth of Australian rock lobster dead or spoiled, causing unease in the industry.
Queensland timber has also been banned from China after Customs said insects were found in logs shipped from the state.
The inability of Trade Minister Simon Birmingham — who remains in the role after being sworn in as Finance Minister — or any other member of the Morrison government to speak to their Chinese counterparts has heightened concerns in the $700m-a-year export industry.
Labor agriculture spokesman Joel Fitzgibbon and trade spokeswoman Madeleine King said it demonstrated the need for Prime Minister Scott Morrison to appoint a trade minister who could “devote the requisite time and energy to fix our trade problems with China”.
“Australian exporters could rightly ask: what is the hold-up with appointing a new trade minister?” they said in a statement.
Retaliatory trade action on Australian barley, beef and wine has increased fears across industries that are highly leveraged to China’s huge market.
Sources in the lobster industry, which exports more than 90 per cent of its product to China, said it remained unclear if the Shanghai hold-up was politically motivated or the result of new regulations or overzealous officials.
Southern Rocklobster Limited executive officer Tom Cosentino said the export halt would continue until the Chinese side explained the situation.
“A decision has been made by the majority of exporters to stop sending shipments to China,” said Mr Cosentino, noting the industry was engaging with Chinese authorities over a new Customs process that had not been properly explained.
In a subsequent statement issued late on Monday, Mr Cosentino said there had been “positive signs” in talks with Chinese authorities.
Australia dominates the premium lobster trade in China, supplying 55 per cent in 2019, worth more than $700m. New Zealand is the second-largest supplier with a 21 per cent share of its premium lobster sales.
Dong En, who runs a seafood business in Beijing, said Australian lobster was the “unchallengeable No 1” for high-end restaurants and VIP lounges she sold to. “For us, Australian lobsters are the best we can get from the market and the best we can provide to our customers,” she told The Australian. Canada and the US supply the Chinese market with cheaper “homarus” lobsters, which sell for far less than Australia and New Zealand’s large cold-water lobsters.
Removing Australia’s product — which last year made up 36.5 per cent of China’s entire lobster imports — would see the prices spike during the end-of-year wedding period and in the lead-up to the Lunar New Year holiday in January.
“The live lobster market is a case of mutual dependence,” said James Laurenceson, director of the Australia-China Relations Institute. “This means trade actions that hurt Australian producers will inevitably hurt Chinese consumers too,” Professor Laurenceson told The Australian.
While three shipments of Australian lobsters were held up last Thursday in Shanghai, another six shipments entered China through the southern cities of Shenzhen and Guangzhou without any regulatory hurdles.
The ban on timber exports from Queensland was announced by China’s Customs department on Friday and first reported by the South China Morning Post.
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said Australia had strong regulatory controls that underpin the integrity and biosecurity of all products exported.
“We will work with the Chinese authorities to investigate and resolve these issues,” he said.
Senator Birmingham said it was important not to “jump at shadows” over the lobster delay but the tense environment was having an impact on the decisions of Australian companies.
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