Beijing has listed tariffs on Australian rock lobsters with imports to resume this year. Picture: stock
Exports of live Australian rock lobsters to China are to resume by the end of the year in a $700m move welcomed by state and federal governments.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says China’s decision to remove tariffs on Australian imports will save 3000 jobs, 2000 of them in Western Australia.
An agreement to a timetable for the re-entry of live rock lobster imports was made during a meeting between Albanese and China’s Premier Li Qiang on the sidelines of the ASEAN Summit in Vientiane, Laos.
“Resolution of trade impediments is at the top of our government’s agenda,” Albanese says.
“It is in the interests of both our countries to continue this path of stabilising our relationship.”
Foreign Minister Penny Wong says the government’s approach to China has been patient, calibrated and deliberate — and it has paid dividends.
“We continue to urge Australian businesses to diversify to grow value for their companies and for their country,” she says.
Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell described the news as “a great outcome” for the lobster industry.
Federal Fisheries Minister Julie Collins describes the decision as “a significant step forward”.
“The resumption of full Australian rock lobster exports to China is expected to have a trade potential of over $700 million,” she says.
Since 2020, Australian rock lobsters have effectively been banned from China.
WA REACTION
The WA Government also welcomed the news; the state was the nation’s biggest supplier of lobster to China before tariffs were imposed with more than 5500 tonnes of rock lobster worth more than $448.7 million exported in 2018-19.
It’s expected the state’s major lobster suppliers in the Mid-West and metropolitan areas will gear up operations to resume trade.
WA Premier Roger Cook says it is pleasing to see China relent.
“Programs to grow local sales and other overseas markets have supported the fishery through the sanction period, and the resumption of sales will build on this success,” he says.
WA Fisheries Minister Don Punch says the decision “will re-open and drive demand and market competition”.
“This resilient industry has adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and market disruptions in recent years, reinventing itself and capturing new domestic and export opportunities.”
TASMANIA REACTS
Tasmania’s Minister for Business, Industry and Resources, Eric Abetz, welcomed the news as well.
He says China has a history of providing exceptionally good prices for Tasmanian fishers and small family businesses.
“At a time where cost of living is biting, our export industry has never been so important to our locally run small businesses,” he says.
“It’s pleasing to have this resolved with the trade to be up and running again by the end of the year, and importantly, in time for the Chinese New Year in late January.”
