Australia has sent its first shipment of barley to China after Beijing scrapped tariffs on the trade earlier this month.
The first shipment has been dispatched, Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said at a press conference on Tuesday at the Kwinana grain terminal in Western Australia, adding that there’s confidence exports could return to the levels seen prior to the implementation of tariffs.
China was the biggest export destination for Australian barley prior to tariffs of more than 80% being slapped on the trade in 2020, with deteriorating relations impacting other commodities such as coal and wine. Traders started booking cargoes of the grain shortly after the duties were scrapped.
Prior to the tariffs wiping out the trade, the China market was worth as much as A$1.5 billion ($966 million) to Australia in 2017-18, according to data from the nation’s agriculture department. The country’s exporters turned to other buyers, ramping up shipments to Saudi Arabia, Japan and Vietnam.
--With assistance from Ben Westcott.
