https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/australian-barley-cargo-turns-away-from-china-amid-tensions-1.1438157 1h ago Ainslie Chandler and Alfred Cang, Bloomberg News A vessel laden with Australian barley has swung away from China after the Asian country slapped anti-dumping duties on imports of the grain for five years amid escalating bilateral diplomatic tensions. Dry bulk carrier African Quail has changed its destination from Machong port in southern China to Port of Jebel Ali in United Arab Emirates after loading barley from Port Lincoln in southern Australia this month, according to data from broker and adviser IKON Commodities and Bloomberg ship-tracking information. It was one of five vessels carrying the grain with original destinations in China, the data show. Australia’s biggest barley customer will impose an anti-dumping duty of 73.6% and an anti-subsidy duty of 6.9%, effective from May 19, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce late Monday. Industry groups are warning the measures will gut an export market worth A$1.4 billion ($916 million) in 2017. Australia, which has fueled tensions with China by calling for an independent investigation into the origins of the coronavirus pandemic and into wildlife wet markets, has indicated it may appeal to the World Trade Organization. Now the country’s exports of wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy are in danger of being targeted if China opts for more escalation, according to people familiar with the matter. The scale of the barley tariffs isn’t a surprise, but the five-year duration was “longer than I or a number of trade participants would have expected,” said Andrew Whitelaw, senior market analyst at Mecardo. The immediate concern is for shipments already heading to China, said Ole Houe, director at IKON. “There’s unlikely to be a lot of immediate takers so those boats will likely have to be sold at large discounts,” he said. There’s a batch of grain sold but not shipped, which will have to be resold at a discount. “For next year and for the crop we’re planting at the moment, the risk is also very real, but the market has already dropped to levels that make us competitive in the general feed grains market,” he said. Australia should be able to export its barley to other markets, as its displacement as a supplier to China will be significant to global trade, said Tobin Gorey, Commonwealth Bank of Australia agricultural commodities strategist. China will have to turn to other exporters, including those in the EU and Black Sea, Canada and Argentina, for malting barley used in beer. “As China’s brewers are forced to bid harder for other sources of barley, Australian barley will find a home with those out bid by China,” he said.
China Mulls Targeting Australian Wine and Dairy on Coronavirus Spat Bloomberg News, Bloomberg News (Bloomberg) -- Australian exports of wine, seafood, oatmeal, fruit and dairy are in danger of being targeted by China if Beijing decides to escalate a row over Canberra’s calls for an investigation into the origin of Covid-19, according to people familiar with the matter Chinese officials have compiled a list of potential goods that it could target by implementing stricter quality checks, anti-dumping probes or tariffs, adding steps to or delaying customs clearances, or using state media to encourage consumer boycotts, the people said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private. Australia raised China’s ire by leading calls for an investigation into the origins of coronavirus, writing to G-20 leaders to gather support for its push, as well as urging an international probe into wildlife wet markets. A final decision hasn’t been made and any additional measures will depend on how Australia addresses China’s objections, the people said. China doesn’t intend to publicly acknowledge a link between its trade actions and Australia’s calls for an international probe, they said. China’s commerce ministry and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment. As tensions between the two nations have grown, Chinese officials threatened to boycott Australian goods and suspended meat imports from four processing plants for “technical” reasons. Beijing also slapped anti-dumping and anti-subsidy duties totaling more than 80% on Australian barley late Monday. While a spokesman for China’s foreign ministry said last week the beef imports were suspended “to secure the health and safety of Chinese consumers,” he also criticized Australia’s pursuit of a probe into the origins of the coronavirus first discovered in China. The spokesman, Zhao Lijian, denied the two issues were connected, telling reporters in Beijing: “I don’t think you should take them as one, or make any erroneous political interpretation.” Beijing’s measures threaten exports to Australia’s most important trading partner, with agricultural shipments alone totaling about A$16 billion ($10 billion) in 2018-19, six times higher than it was about two decades ago. Diplomatic relations between the trading partners have worsened in recent years, with Australia saying Beijing’s “meddling” in its government, media and education system was a catalyst for anti-foreign interference laws pass in 2018. Like the U.S., Australia has also banned Huawei Technologies Co. from building its 5G network. A slowdown in Australian coal imports into Chinese ports was blamed on tensions over Huawei, as was the barley anti-dumping probe that began in 2018. China has also restricted canola imports from Canada after the north American nation detained a Huawei executive. ©2020 Bloomberg L.P. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/china-m...-wine-and-dairy-on-coronavirus-spat-1.1438123