(Recasts with dollar value on China's imports of Australian
copper in paragraphs 1, 2 and 13)
By Lewis Jackson, Siyi Liu and Melanie Burton
SYDNEY, May 10 (Reuters) - Australia exported roughly
$40 million worth of copper ore and concentrate to China early
this year, Australian customs data shows, a sign of industry
hope that trade in the red metal will resume as diplomatic
relations improve.
Australian trade data shows exports worth A$60.5 million
($41.04 million) of copper ore and concentrate to China in
January, though the cargoes have not appeared in Chinese customs
data. It was the first month of exports since December 2020,
Australian data showed.
China is gradually easing a raft of unofficial restrictions
and tariffs on Australian imports including coal, copper ore and
concentrate and barley that were imposed in 2020 at the height
of a diplomatic spat over trade, security and the origins of
COVID-19.
Trade Minister Don Farrell said last week he would travel to
Beijing "very soon" for trade talks with his counterpart after a
virtual meeting in February. An unofficial ban on Australian
coal imports was lifted in January.
"Any step towards resolving the trade impediments is
welcome," Farrell said on Wednesday in response to a Reuters
request for comment on this story.
Copper ore and concentrate imports are likely to resume if
the talks go well, according to an official surnamed Wang at a
Chinese copper smelter, who said smelters want extra supply from
Australia. He declined to provide a full name due to the
sensitivity of the issue.
In the weeks after China lifted the unofficial coal ban,
traders initially sent small shipments to test whether customs
would clear coal cargoes.
Australian copper accounted for just 5% of Chinese imports
in 2019 but is an important source of supply in what is expected
to become a tight global market.
The world's top refined metal producer, China has lifted
copper production to a record high this year, propelling demand
for the raw material imports it heavily relies on.
Chinese customs did not immediately respond to a faxed
request for comment.
Chinese customs data showed just 10kg (22.05 lb) of copper
ore and concentrate were imported from Australia in the first
quarter of this year, a neglible volume that is roughly in line
with what was recorded a year earlier.
Should restrictions end, the trade should return to former
levels in time, according to Nick Pickens, global mining
research director at Wood Mackenzie.
China imported just over one million tonnes of copper ore
and concentrate from Australia in 2019, according to customs
data, worth about $1.67 billion at the time.
Australia's centre-left Labor government notched another win
last month in its push to remove all trade blocks when both
countries agreed to resolve within three months a World Trade
Organization dispute over Chinese barley tariffs.
Australian trade data showed A$78,000 worth of barley
exports to China in January, the first since November 2020.
($1 = 1.4743 Australian dollars)
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Copper comeback? Australian copper returns to China ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>
(Reporting by Lewis Jackson in Sydney, Melanie Burton in
Melbourne and Siyi Liu in Beijing; Editing by Sonali Paul)
@lewjackk))
