The Australian grains industry has welcomed the announcement by China to remove the Antidumping (AD) and Countervailing Duties (CVD) imposed on Australian barley exports to China.

Grain Trade Australia (GTA) CEO Pat O’Shannassy said “China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) have determined that due to a change in industry circumstances that lifting the AD and CVD duties would be the public interest. This announcement is an important step forward in resuming the strong and mutually beneficial relationship between China’s and Australia’s barley industries..”

“Our view has always been that resolving the barley dispute is in the beneficial interests of both China and Australia, and respective industries.

When asked if the industry had been concerned around the recent extension of the time period for the review agreed with China from 3 to 4 months, Mr O’Shannassy said “from a practical perspective, that was always a realistic scenario, so we remained positive.

Australian industry has respected and engaged fully with the processes under the dispute, and we look forward to and naturally welcome such an amicable resolution.”

“China is historically a very important export market for barley from Australia over many decades, with very strong customer relationships and considerable cooperation between industry partners in plant breeding and technical support to meet China’s needs”, Mr O’Shannassy said.

“Our barley exports to China peaked at 6.3 million tonnes in 2016-17 before falling to negligible levels once the duties were imposed in 2020, so we very much hope this decision will enable our trade relationships and exports resume.

We would expect the industry in China and Australia to positively respond, now this agreement has been reached between the respective Governments he said.

Australian industry will also remain actively engaged with the other markets that have been importing Australian barley, at both a technical and commercial level” Mr O’Shannassy said.