Eyes wide open

Therehas been plenty of attention recently on the likely lifting of the tariffs imposed by the Chinese Communist Party on imports of Australian barley into China.

The tariffs were introduced because, apparently, we were dumping our barley into that market at prices lower than the prevailing Australian price.

It had nothing to do with global politics and definitely not designed to bring us to heel. Same with the bans on coal, wine and lobster.

Since the imposition of the barley tariffs in 2020, we have been able to find other willing buyers for our barley.

Moving successive large crops has been logistically challenging, but the buyers were there.

It is generally accepted though, the loss of the Chinese market has reduced the price received by our growers in the order of $30 to $50 a tonne.

The dilemma now for the Aussie barley industry is what to do if China removes all tariffs.

Do we revert to old habits and ship as much as we can to China? Or do we continue to develop new markets to ensure