CANBERRA- Australia has lowered its forecast for beef exports to China, its largest buyer, by 1.5 percent for the 2020/21 season, the country’s chief commodity forecaster said on Tuesday, as trade relations sour.
The Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics and Sciences (ABARES) said it now expects China to buy 227,000 tons of beef in the year to June 30, 2021, compared with 230,000 tons in its March estimate. That would amount to 30 percent less than in the year earlier period.
The lower forecast comes after China in May suspended exports for four of Australia’s largest beef exporters, citing labeling issues. Australian government sources have said recent bilateral tensions are likely behind the suspension.
Labeling issues were also cited by Beijing when the same companies and two others lost their licenses to ship beef to China in 2017 for several months.
Australian-China relations soured after Canberra called for an independent inquiry into the origins of the novel coronavirus.
Meanwhile, ABARES said Australian wheat exports will jump to 16.5 million tons during the 2020/21 season.
ABARES last week raised its estimate for wheat production by 25 percent as a crippling three-year drought finally ends.
Australia is among the world’s top 10 exporters of the grain, which typically contributes about 2 percent to the country’s gross domestic product.
Meanwhile, China has halted imports from European salmon suppliers amid fears they might be linked to a coronavirus outbreak at a Beijing market, although experts say the fish itself is unlikely to carry the disease.