China’s share of Australian agricultural exports

China is Australia’s largest export market for agricultural products, averaging $12.1 billion in value over the last five financial years. Total agricultural export value has averaged $47.5 billion over the same period, with exports to China accounting for 25.4 per cent.

In May this year China suspended beef trade with Australia originating from four red meat processors and imposed an 80.5 per cent tariff on Australian barley following its anti-dumping investigation which dated back to November 2018. This month there have been reports and speculation that other commodities may face export suspensions from China.

To understand what effect this would have on Australian agricultural exports, Rural Bank has analysed the significance of China for Australian agricultural exports in barley, wheat, lobster, wine, wool, red meat, dairy and horticulture.

It also looks at the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, signed by 15 countries in the Indo-Pacific region including Australia and China. While it does not include any additional tariff reductions, could present opportunities for Australia to expand agricultural exports into alternative markets in the region by strengthening trade relationships.

The feature looks at the significance of China for Australian agricultural exports, the potential impact of any trade suspensions on Australian exports and alternative markets for producers to consider.