{"id":5889,"date":"2023-05-14T08:28:20","date_gmt":"2023-05-14T08:28:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/?p=5889"},"modified":"2024-12-23T16:33:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-23T06:33:53","slug":"china-ban-australian-timber-restrictions-remain-for-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/china-ban-australian-timber-restrictions-remain-for-now\/","title":{"rendered":"China Ban: Australian Timber Restrictions Remain for Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Australia\u2019s Trade Minister has returned home after a short trip to China, where he advocated for continued efforts to resolve trade bans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>After talks with Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing, Don Farrell said he was \u201cvery pleased to confirm that we agreed to step up dialogue under our free trade agreement and other platforms to resolve our outstanding issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"y88WiwpT9Nc\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"\u2018A long, long way to go\u2019 for China-Australia trade ties | The World\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/y88WiwpT9Nc?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Footage courtesy of @<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@abcnewsaustralia\">abcnewsaustralia<\/a><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Don Farrell pushed the Chinese government to lift its prohibitively expensive tariffs on Australian barley, beef, wine, lobster, coal, and \u2026 timber.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But those trade bans remain in place for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Speaking at a press conference after the talks, Mr Farrell said there was \u201cpositive momentum\u201d in the meeting but acknowledged more work needed to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe made the decision on coming to Government 12 months ago we wanted to stabilise our relationship with the Chinese Government and to get our relationship back on track and to lift all these trade impediments,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is just another step in the road \u2026 I\u2019m very confident that as a result of this face-to-face discussion today that we are well on track to get a stable, normal relationship with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe trade impediments didn\u2019t occur overnight and they\u2019re not going to be resolved overnight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Rewinding Trade Restrictions on Australian Timber Exports <\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/chopsticks-diplomacy-china-likely-to-lift-restrictions-on-timber-beef-and-wine\/\">In February 2023<\/a>, Wood Central reported that the Chinese Government was looking to rewind restrictions on timber (and beef).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cNow suddenly there is dialogue, and it is not just minister to minister, but it\u2019s government to government and businesses are feeling a bit more confident to talk to each other about potential,\u201d Australian Meat Industry Council CEO Patrick Hutchinson told The Australian Financial Review.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The restrictions still remain in place, but the latest developments are a positive step for the Australian forest products industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2020, China suspended imports of Australian timber after local customs officers claimed they found bark beetle in cargo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"ziVkMSRtXGQ\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Timber the latest target caught up in Australia-China trade tensions\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/ziVkMSRtXGQ?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Footage courtesy of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SkyNewsAustralia\">@SkyNewsAustralia<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Before the sanctions, Australia had a $1.6 billion ($1.23 billion (USD)) timber trade with China.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The four-million-tonne log timber trade with China has been largely suspended since 2020, with Woodchips exempt from the ban.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was revealed that China\u2019s Foreign Minister Qin Jang plans to visit Australia in July following a meeting with Foreign Minister Penny Wong last December.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Mr. Wang welcomed \u201cpositive progress\u201d after years of escalating tensions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cChina and Australia are important countries in the Asia Pacific. We do not have fundamental conflicts of interest,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe need to see our differences and divergence in perspective, improve and maintain our bilateral economic relations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is in our fundamental interests.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h6 class=\"wp-block-heading\">NZ Log Prices Drop 14% Amid China Construction Slowdown<\/h6>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/nz-log-prices-drop-14-amid-china-construction-slowdown\/\">Last week, Wood Central reported<\/a> on New Zealand\u2019s declining log export prices due to a lack of expected growth in China\u2019s seasonable demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<div class=\"youtube-embed\" data-video_id=\"_I14m9P2E7c\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"China housing: Can the world\u2019s biggest housing market boom again?\" width=\"696\" height=\"392\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_I14m9P2E7c?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><em>Footage courtesy of South China Morning Post<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/@SouthChinaMorningPost\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&nbsp;@SouthChinaMorningPost<\/a><br><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>From March to April, A-grade log prices declined from $130-$133 NZD to $112-$115 NZD.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Allan Laurie, Managing Director of Laurie Forestry, expressed frustration with the situation, stating, \u201cprices must be north of $120\u201d for harvesters to break even.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This situation has reached a tipping point where the market has essentially signaled that it has an adequate wood supply, and sellers must now offer discounted prices on the log supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cSome ships were en route without contracts or letters of credit, forcing exporters to accept whatever price was offered for the logs upon arrival in China\u201d, Laure said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The New Zealand Forest Owners Association \u2013 which represents all NZ exports, acknowledged that the NZ forest products market is heavily reliant on the Chinese market for export.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Though a lower-priced and challenging market, Laurie identified India as a potential market. However, Europe perhaps presents the greatest opportunity for NZ\u2019s radiate pine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cEurope is a standout. We\u2019re seeing significant reductions in harvest across Europe of the softwood species, and that must be destined to continue. So we should be looking for opportunities in Europe also.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Australia\u2019s Trade Minister has returned home after a short trip to China, where he advocated for continued efforts to resolve trade bans. After talks with Chinese Trade Minister Wang Wentao in Beijing, Don Farrell said he was \u201cvery pleased to confirm that we agreed to step up dialogue under our free trade agreement and other [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19250,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"today","timeOption":"now","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":"absolute"},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[52,50,32,46,1],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[69],"class_list":{"0":"post-5889","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-asia","8":"category-australia","9":"category-global-news","10":"category-industry","11":"category-uncategorized"},"authors":[{"term_id":69,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"woodcentral","display_name":"Wood Central","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg","url2x":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/MASTER-BRAND-MARK_POS_RGB-e1676449549955.jpg"},"0":null,"1":"","2":"","3":"","4":"","5":"","6":"","7":"","8":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5889"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22999,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5889\/revisions\/22999"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5889"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodcentral.com.au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=5889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}