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China is working to reopen rapeseed trade with Australia after a five-year suspension, seeking to secure supplies of a key animal feed ingredient amid worsening relations with top supplier Canada.
Sources familiar with the matter said Chinese agricultural trading company Cofco made active inquiries last week with major Australian exporters over pricing and specific terms to book the new rapeseed crop – known locally as canola – expected after October.
The sources added that the state-owned trading giant had accelerated efforts to secure supplies from Australia, the world's second-largest exporter, after Beijing decided last week to impose provisional tariffs of 75.8% on shipments from Canada following an anti-dumping investigation.
China has traditionally relied on Canada for the bulk of its imports of rapeseed and the canola meal produced by crushing the crop into an easy-to-use feed for livestock and fish. That trade had already come under pressure after Beijing earlier this year imposed steep tariffs on shipments of Canadian canola meal in response to duties Ottawa had placed on Chinese goods.
Cofco Group and its global arm, Cofco International, did not respond to emailed requests for comment.
Although the two countries have yet to reach a formal agreement on the phytosanitary issues that led China to halt imports of Australian canola since 2020, Beijing has agreed in principle to accept some trial shipments from Australia, according to the sources. However, final details still need to be settled.
A spokesperson for Australia's Department of Agriculture said: "These are active and ongoing discussions between the two governments, and the details have not yet been finalised."
According to Chinese customs data, China purchased 6.39 million tonnes of rapeseed last year, worth more than $3 billion, most of it sourced from Canada.
Source: Reuters