EMERALD Grain is the latest Australian grain exporter to run afoul of stringent Chinese interpretations of weed seed limits.
The company has been suspended from exporting into the Chinese market as punishment for what Chinese inspection officials are claiming is an excessive number of weed seeds, believed to be Brome grass.
It follows a similar punishment handed down to WA-based CBH in September for alleged breaches of weed seed protocols.
Australian barley producers have largely been squeezed out of the Chinese market due to tariffs implemented in May for alleged breaches of anti-dumping laws, but there has been limited tonnages entering China via its free trade zones, exempt from tariffs.
France is now supplying China with much of its barley.
Due to current world market dynamics, China could be paying as much as $50 a tonne more for French barley than what it would pay sourcing the grain from Australia, with Aussie barley currently some of the world's cheapest.
Details are not clear at this stage as to exactly where the shipment China alleges is contaminated with weed seeds has come from.
Emerald Grain sent two shipments of barley to China recently, one from Melbourne and one from Albany, Western Australia.
It will seek further clarification as to the specifics of the alleged breach, as to whether it relates to one or the other of the shipments or both.
In a silver lining of sorts for the company the shipments have been unloaded and no further business is booked with China meaning the ban will not have a material negative impact in the short-term.
The Emerald Grain ban is just the latest in a number of non-tariff measures that is disrupting Australian agriculture trade with the world's most populous nation.
There have been issues with wine and meat exports, while just this week there has been a dispute over lobster and timber exports along with the Emerald Grain ban.