News beef production
Australia benefits from Chinese beef imports
Chinese beef imports have risen sharply in recent months. This is a positive development for many countries, but for the Asian superpower it is counteracting on some fronts. For example, the Australian import limit has been exceeded, as a result of which the import tariff has been overturned more than twice.
Chinese beef imports have increased by 5% in the first 45 months of this year compared to previous years. To date, the country has imported 821.000 tons. Many countries benefited from the increased import demand: Brazilian exports increased by 131%, Argentine exports grew by 51% and Australia also benefited with a growth of 35%.
Australia to China
When the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement (ChAFTA) was introduced in 2015, a 'Special Agricultural Safeguard' (SSG) was established, or an 'import limit'. The import limit is a certain number of tonnages of a product that China can import from Australia at a reduced rate. Beef imports were subject to a limit of 179.687 tons at an import tariff of 4,8%. Last Tuesday, June 30, this limit was reached, as a result of which the import tariff was increased to 12% for the second half of 2020.
Australia has also been able to trigger the limit in previous years, but it has never happened so early in the year. Chinese importers have already asked their Australian trading partners to revise or even cancel their contracts, something they know is basically a no-go.
Australia is an important beef trading partner for China: 21% of total beef imports come from Australia. With the introduction of the ChAFTA treaty, an import limit was therefore introduced that is leading for the applicable import tariff. Outside this limit, rates vary between 12 and 25%. According to the treaty, the 12% tariff on beef offal will be abolished as of January 1, 2022 and the tariff varying between 12 and 25% on the import of any other type of beef will expire on January 1, 2024.
Dutch export
The Chinese sales market is not the largest for the Netherlands, but it is in sixth place in the top 10 most important export countries. Of the agricultural export products, meat is the second most important on the list. The Netherlands will export a total of €7,8 billion worth of meat products in 2018.
Incidentally, it was not so long ago that China no longer wanted to import beef from European countries. After the mad cow disease outbreak in late 1990, China decided to close its borders to beef from European countries. Only in 2018, after 17 years of negotiations, did the Asian superpower open its borders again.
Jorine Cosse
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