China and Australia have agreed on a timetable to lift trade restrictions on the sale of live Australian lobster, which would bring an end to a four-year ban.
News of a ban on Australian lobster first started circulating in November 2020, as the Chinese Ministry of Commerce began asking seafood importers to cancel all orders from Australia. While the note was first unofficial, messages circulated on WeChat and specifically named a number of Australian products that would be detained at Chinese ports if they arrived after 6 November.
The note soon proved to be correct and marked the start of a multi-year ban on the species, coming soon after then-Australia Prime Minister Scott Morrison suggested China’s role in the origins of Covid-19 should be further investigated.
The ban cut off one of the Australian lobster industry’s most lucrative markets. Australia Federal Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell told Sky News Australia in June 2024 that the market was worth as much as AUD 70 million (USD 47 million, EUR 43 million) annually at its peak.
Since the ban, rumors have circulated about the resumption of trade, as Chinese importers sought the product.
“Australian lobsters are recognized as premium in China,” Beijing-based Sunkfa International Food (Beijing) Co. Purchasing Head Qiang Weng said in November 2023. “Since the trade war, China has not imported any live Australian lobsters directly.”
With the ban lasting years, some importers began to seek alternative products, and countries like Cuba managed to establish new footholds in the market.
Four years into the ban in July 2024, Australia Federal Minister for Trade and Tourism Don Farrell said trade of live lobsters between the two countries could be imminent. Now, following a Southeast Asian summit in Vientiane, Laos, Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese announced trade would resume.
“I’m pleased to announce that Premier Li and I have agreed on a timetable to resume full lobster trade by the end of this year,” Albanese said during a press conference. “This, of course, will be in time for Chinese New Year, and this will be welcomed by the people engaged in the live lobster industry.”
Seafood Industry Australia (SIA) said the news is ...