February 21, 2017
The first shipment of live beef cattle from Australia arrived in China on Tuesday.
Deputy Prime Minister and Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce said the shipment of 1200 live slaughter cattle was made possible by the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
The animals were loaded on board a vessel at Portland, in South Australia, on February 4.
Mr Joyce said from January 1 this year the 10 per cent tariff for live cattle exports to China dropped to just 4 per cent because of the China-Australia Free Trade Agreement.
“That tariff will be completely eliminated on January 1, 2019, further enhancing the attractiveness of Australia’s live cattle to Chinese importers,” Mr Joyce said.
“We already have a significant trade in breeder cattle with China, with over 94,000 breeder cattle exported from Australia in 2016.
“With the first shipment of slaughter cattle arriving by sea we now have a new market opportunity with great potential.
“Live slaughter cattle exports into China will provide an important supplement to our significant chilled and frozen beef exports into the Chinese market, worth $867 million in 2015-16.”
In 2016, Australia exported more than three million feeder, slaughter and breeder livestock to the world, including approximately one million feeder and slaughter cattle exported to 16 markets.
