A meat factory accused of suspending exports to china, kunzhou Kilcoy.( abc photo)
At a time when trade relationship between australia and china have become tense, at least four australian meat factories were said to have been suspended from exporting to china last night, meaning 35% of australia's red meat exports have been affected.
The australian newspaper reported that the Kilcoy known to the paper to be located in quinzhou towumba (Toowoomba) and the Northern Co-operative Meat Company, of cassino (Casino), Dinmore、 new state, in brisbane, were suspended by chinese authorities.
The four meat factories are said to have not been officially known and are now licensed to export to China.
But the suspension of exports to china from the four meat plants could be a technical issue, industry sources told the australian newspaper.
One analyst told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that the four meat plants accounted for 35 per cent of China's red meat exports, while Australia's red meat exports to China are expected to reach A $3.5 billion this year.
The country suspended imports of six Australian meat plants in 2017, with Australian Country Choice and Thomas Foods. in addition to the four that were called off again
The meat factories were banned from exporting to china because china was concerned about marking codes, and it took months to solve the problem through advanced diplomacy, during which australia's beef processing was affected.
A trade minister : moratorium on exports is a technical issue
The australian minister of trade, birmingham (Simon Birmingham), said in a statement that chinese authorities had informed australia yesterday about the suspension of australian beef exports due to labelling and hygiene certification requirements.
"We fear that the suspension seems to be due to highly technical problems, in some cases going back more than a year ago ," the statement said. "
"I spoke to industry leaders, peers and trade ministries last night to form a complete response. "
"We will work with both Australia and China to find solutions to enable these enterprises to return to normal operation as soon as possible. "
The Australian Meat Council (AMIC) stated that the Australian meat processing industry had "taken China's strict requirements seriously" and that "although we do not wish to face them, we have dealt with such issues in the past and are working closely with the Federal government. "
"This is a federal-led trade and market access issue. "
technical issue or diplomatic game?
In an interview with the Australian Financial Review last month, China's ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, referred to Australia's initiative to actively seek the source of the new crown virus. In the long run, if this mood continues to deteriorate, people will wonder why we should go to such an unfriendly country to China? Parents may wonder why they must send their children to such an unfriendly and even hostile country to study? So it depends on the choice of the public. One might wonder why we drink Australian wine and eat Australian beef. Why can't we switch to something else? "
But the statement by Cheng Jingye is interpreted by many Western media as "threat" Australia ."
Lyons (Ben Lyons) of the University of South Queensland (SQU), an Australian trade scholar with China, said today that China is playing a "diplomatic game" with Australia.
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But Lyons also notes that Australia does have some leverage in negotiating a solution to the impasse with China, because "China no longer accounts for 9% of the world's arable land "," they also have problems with labour and productivity. "
"I think we have a lot (what China needs), and I think it's a matter of several different forces growing, not barley producers or beef producers doing something wrong. "
At a meat factory in Virginia where the new coronavirus group was infected Cedar Meats 85 employees had tested positive by Tuesday morning.
