China lifts Australian hay export ban after two years

Although never officially banned, since 2021 dozens of Australian hay exports were locked out of the important market because China would not renew their trade permits.

In the past two years, hay exports from China have almost halved, dropping from $160m in 2020 to just $78m in 2022.

China is one of only four countries taking 90pc of Australia's hay and chaff exports, along with Japan, Taiwan and South Korea, however China only took 16pc of the share last year.

Hay exporters have tried to make up for the dramatic drop, with limited success diversifying into Indonesia and Vietnam, but China's return to the fold will be welcome news to the industry, which was worth $467m in 2022-23.

Shipments are expected to resume within a few weeks, once customers have successfully applied for import licences.

Balco Australia chief executive Rob Lawson said the announcement was fantastic news for Australia's oaten hay industry.

"We have enjoyed strong relationships with customers in China over many years, and we are looking forward to re-establishing and growing those relationships," Mr Lawson said.

Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said the resumption of trade was "more good news for Aussie farmers", and followed in the footsteps of timber and barley.

"The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry has been working tirelessly on a resolution for many months in the lead-up to today's announcement," Senator Watt said.

"We are working hard to remove the existing impediments and restrictions on other important commodities like beef, wine and lobster."

Trade Minister Don Farrell said the full resumption of the hay trade was a positive step forward, "but there is more work to do".

"It's many multiples of millions of dollars of trade that we had lost, and we have now regained," Senator Farrell said.

"[Hay] is one of those products that we can very quickly ramp up and there's a lot of untapped demand for our hay in China."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has accepted an invitation from Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Beijing before the end of the year.

The upcoming trip to China will mark the 50^th anniversary of prime minister Gough Whitlam's visit to the Asian nation.

The last Australian leader to visit China was former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull in 2016.