Some Australian hay suppliers have not received permits to export to China, the Global Times reported late on Thursday citing Chinese industry sources, in the latest escalation of trade tensions between the two countries.
In a separate report on Wednesday, ABC News said Australia's $160-million hay export market to China could be the latest casualty in the ongoing trade tensions, with 28 Australian hay exporters to China failing to get their expired permits renewed since the end of February.
Australia's ties with top trade partner China soured in 2018 when it became the first country to publicly ban China's Huawei from its 5G network, and has worsened after Canberra called for an enquiry into the origins of the coronavirus last year.
China consumes about 1 million tonnes of hay a year, the Global Times said citing industry sources. It said 300,000 tonnes comes from Australia, its sole source of hay imports, with domestic producers supplying the rest.
Beijing is looking at other options for this feed material including increasing domestic production and looking at new sources of imports, the report added.
It comes as China is also seeking to cut corn and soymeal content in animal feed by using alternative grains, as a deficit of corn supplies triggered huge price hikes.
(Reporting by Shivani Singh; Editing by Ana Nicolaci da Costa)
