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China is preparing to wind back restrictions on Australian timber and other products under the latest phase of what insiders are calling a gradual removal of political sanctions imposed by Xi Jinping\u2019s government.<\/p>\n
Key players in Australia\u2019s beef and timber industry and Chinese government media reports said on Monday that restrictions on the two key Australian exports were expected to be lifted shortly, offering relief for potentially hundreds of exporters.<\/p>\n
In 2020,\u00a0Beijing suspended timber exports from some Australian states by claiming logs were infected with pests.\u00a0As a result of those suspensions, no exports of Australian timber logs have taken place to China in more than two years, affecting about $600 million in trade. China still imports about $1 billion of Australian woodchips a year.<\/p>\n
While Chinese media reports and industry players said they were hopeful those restrictions would be removed soon, they were not aware of China ordering Australian timber yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are aware there have been a lot of positive signals. We are hopeful that log exports from Australia could be back online in the near future,\u201d Victor Violante, deputy chief executive of the Australian Forest Products Association told The Australian Financial Review.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are hopeful those discussions resume, and we are well placed to resume exports pretty quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n
A report in the\u00a0Global Times\u00a0said\u00a0an unofficial meeting between a domestic industry group and Australian authorities would take place next week at the request of Australia and market supply could be discussed. Mr Violante said he was not aware of that meeting.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
China is preparing to wind back restrictions on Australian timber and other products under the latest phase of what insiders are calling a gradual removal of political sanctions imposed by Xi Jinping\u2019s government. Key players in Australia\u2019s beef and timber … Continue reading