In an unwelcome start to 2026 for Australian beef producers, China announced additional 55 per cent tariffs on beef imports for nations including Australia when shipments exceed certain quotas.
China’s commerce ministry has set the total annual quota at 2.7 million tonnes and allocated Australia 205,000 tonnes.
The measures took effect on January 1 for three years and stem from a probe initiated in December 2024 to protect China’s ailing beef sector.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Australian representatives were communicating with their Chinese counterparts and stressed his nation wasn’t being “singled out”.
“Australian beef is in my view proudly, as the Australian prime minister, the best in the world,” he said.
“We compete in the world very well and our products are in great demand right around the world.
“We expect that will continue ... the Australian beef industry has never been stronger than it is today, as we enter 2026.”
China is a major long-term market for Australian beef producers, but made up about eight per cent of the country’s total beef imports.
Both Cattle Australia and the Australian Meat Industry Council estimate the restriction could reduce the nation’s beef exports to China by about a third compared to 2025.
That would equate to a loss of more than $1 billion in trade.
Quotas were eliminated when then-prime minister Tony Abbott struck the landmark free trade deal with China in 2015, opposition trade spokesman Kevin Hogan said.
China’s decision was “entirely unwarranted and at odds with the sentiment” of the free trade agreement, Cattle Australia chair Garry Edwards said.
“We strongly believe this decision will erode the access of Chinese consumers to a reliable source of high-quality, safely produced protein,” Mr Edwards said.
“Australian representatives provided formal evidence its imports did not injure the local Chinese beef industry during the review process.”
Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive officer Tim Ryan said China’s restrictive arrangements were not fair, appropriate or reflective of its long-standing beneficial trade relationship with Australia.
“This decision appears to reward other countries who have surged the volume of beef exported to the Chinese market in recent years,” Mr Ryan said.
“This decision will have a severe impact on trade flows to China over the duration of the measures’ enforcement, disrupt the long-standing relationships fostered under the China-Australia free trade agreement, and restrict the ability for Chinese consumers to access safe and reliable Australian beef.”
MLA managing director Michael Crowley expressed his disappointment on behalf of Australia’s red meat industry following the announcement by China’s Ministry of Commerce.
“Australia has consistently engaged with China throughout their investigation process, making clear at every opportunity that our exports are not the cause of any alleged injury to China’s domestic beef sector,” Mr Crowley said.
“We have also reminded China of Australia’s position as a trusted free trade partner and hope that will continue to be respected.
“China remains and will continue to be an important market for Australian beef and this tariff will impact our customers within China significantly.
“MLA’s China offices will liaise closely with our customers and importers in-market as this measure is implemented.”
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