China will look into the impact of beef imports, international news agencies report

A leading commentator has outlined why Australia may not be the target of any changes to China’s beef import arrangements.

Australia’s position as the only country in the world with an import safeguard arrangement when sending beef to China may set the precedent for how China deals with booming imports from other countries.

This is the view of Global AgriTrends analyst Simon Quilty who said Australia had “shown the way forward” by having the only safeguard trigger.

A safeguard quota is when tarriffs are imposed once a country meets a particular import volume threshold, and in Australia’s case it is part of a free trade agreement with the Asian powerhouse. Australia hit its quota in 2024.

Mr Quilty said it was possible the Chinese government may look to imposing similar safeguard measures on trade with other countries, particulalry volume exporting South American producers like Brazil.

“Its a hard call to say what this may mean for Australia though, the devil is always in the detail,” Mr Quilty said.

The comments come as the stability of the important market for beef was thrown under a cloud last week, following reports China had launched a formal investigation into imported beef.

China’s commerce ministry opened the investigation looking at high import volumes and the impact this had on domestic producers.

According to the reports, it came at the request of representatives from its local industry, and comes as the Chinese economy has slowed.

If the investigation led to new trade measures, major suppliers of beef, including Brazil, Argentina and Australia, could be affected.

China’s total beef imports have almost doubled in value since 2019.

Brazil is the leading supplier into China on value, then Argentina, followed by Australia.

However, an Australian industry insider based in China told The Weekly Times that Australian beef exports into China, on volume, positioned it sixth or seventh in terms of tonnages in recent years, accounting for less than 10 per cent of total imported beef.

As a supplier of high value beef, he said it was not likely volumes of Australian products were directly competing with Chinese-produced beef in that country’s domestic markets.

He said the Australian departments of trade and agriculture were expected to form a taskforce to manage Australia’s response.

China is a valued market for Australia beef, with Meat and Livestock Australia reporting in October 2024 that Australian exports were above long-term averages, and exports to that destination had reached the quota limits.

This development comes just weeks after the Australian industry celebrated the lifting of Chinese-imposed bans on two export beef plants.

This week an Australian Meat Processors Industry Council spokeswoman said AMIC was “committed to supporting a mutually beneficial trade relationship with China”.

“AMIC is closely monitoring the investigation, and we will work with our members, the Australian government, and partners in China through this process.”

A Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries spokeswoman said the Australian Government was “always prepared to engage with our trading partners on these types of issues”.