Agriculture Minister Murray Watt has confirmed that five major Australian beef exporters can resume the exportation to China after Beijing lifted suspension on Wednesday night with immediate effect.
Two Australian beef processors have remain suspended while eight others have now had suspensions lifted.
Australian meatworks were locked out due to technical reasons during a trade war that began in 2020 and this shaved off $20 billion from the country’s exports.
“The decision overnight by China shows the government’s calm and consistent approach to rebuilding Canberra-Beijing ties was working,” Foreign Minister Penny Wong, Trade Minister Don Farrell and Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said in a joint statement.
The federal government says Australian exports have improved by $11.5 billion since the lifting of trade sanctions by China.
Thanks to the China’s progressive removal of punitive tariffs and bans, means less than $1 billion worth of exports remain affected, The Albanese government said.
The government said it will continue to press China to remove the remaining trade sanctions, including for Australia’s rock lobster industry.