Timber producers build back China trade after ban lifted

The forestry sector has welcomed a resumption of the lucrative trade, while the Albanese government says it is “a positive step” towards stripping other tariffs.

China has lifted its ban on Australian timber imports, a trade worth $600 million annually before being suspended in 2020 due to alleged quarantine risks.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said Beijing’s decision to cease the three-year embargo effective immediately was “a positive step forward” in stabilising trade relations with China as Canberra continued to work towards stripping punitive tariffs from barley, wine and meat.

“We’d certainly be hopeful that having resolved these quarantine-type issues on timber, we’ll be able to follow a similar approach with China in relation to other commodities,” he said.

Trucks in a forestry plantation.

The Australian Forest Products Association welcomed the reopening of the China timber trade, with chief executive Joel Fitzgibbon saying the ban had “caused a great deal of upheaval and uncertainty” throughout the sector.

Forestry Australia president Michelle Freeman also applauded the decision but cautioned that, as a net importer of forest products, Australia must also increase local investment to reduce its over-reliance on imported timber.

“The current approach is not working if we want to continue to provide local timber products to support affordable housing and flow-on benefits to meet society’s needs,” Dr Freeman said.

Chinese officials last month announced a three-month review of its tariffs on Australian barley after Australia agreed to halt its World Trade Organisation dispute against Beijing.

Mr Watt said there were “positive signals” coming from barley discussions between the two countries and that “we’d be hopeful that we could certainly get that resolved within that three-month window”.