First vessel of Australian barley loads for China, 1m mt sold so far

The first vessel of Australian barley heading to China has been loaded after import restrictions were lifted on August 4, while the total amount sold is estimated to be up to 1 million mt, trade sources said.

The vessel, called Majestic Island, sailed from CBH’s group terminal in Kwinana carrying barley for the first time in three years, according to local media. 

It was loaded with an initial 49,262 mt of barley and is headed to another Australian port, Lincoln, to load an additional 10,738 mt, according to lineup data available.

Although the vessel was loaded at the CBH terminal, the shipper of the grain was the Australian Grain Export (AGE), according to the data available.

Meanwhile, trade sources said that overall some 700,000 to 1 million mt of old crop and new crop barley has been sold to China since the restrictions were lifted, which includes previously signed deals for optional origin.

In 2020, China imposed an 80.5% import duty on Australian barley, effectively blocking imports from the country, but in April 2023 it agreed to review all its tariffs within three months, leading the Australian government to suspend a dispute it had lodged with the WTO over the duties.

China also imposed an additional 3% import tax on Australian barley in 2020, putting this origin in the same position as all other origins from which China imports.

However, with the elimination of the restrictions on August 4, 2023, the 3% import tax also was canceled, putting Australia once again in a more beneficial position.

China is one of the world's leading barley importers, with annual imports of 7.2 million mt on a five-year average basis, and Australia's share was the biggest before the restrictions came into force.