Australians to stop exporting to China due to customs rejections

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Australian exporters are so scared of having their perishables rejected by China Customs that they have stopped shipping them. This is expected to continue well into 2021, making already fragile supply chains that have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic at even higher risk of disruption.

Exporter Andrew Ferguson had three shipments of live lobsters die in China because of delays in customs testing. China said the incident was due to high levels of cadmium that had been found in some shipments.

“The lobsters were out of the water too long, and they died while they were waiting to be cleared. The cost was significant,” said Mr Ferguson.

Chinese importers have also told wine, sugar, wool, copper, and coal suppliers their goods won’t clear customs either.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Scott Morrison said Australia will not back down from its foreign policy agenda, which involves demands for an open inquiry into China’s role in the Covid-19 crisis.

“The global competition between the US and China presents new challenges. Like other sovereign nations in the Indo-Pacific, our preference is that Australia is not forced into any binary choices,” said Mr Morrison.

Mr Morrison also praised China’s economic and social growth after discussing the competition between the US and China.

“On China-Australia relations, we hope Australia will make independent, objective, sensible choices that serve its own interests,” said spokesman Zhao Lijian in a response to this news.