Appl Ex 8m

Application Exercise 8m: Tariffs on Australian lobster and barley exports

  • A brief outline of the ban/ protection measure and what it entails
    • Lobsters market (fresh and live – not frozen)
    • Ban by China in November 2020 (in the lead up to Christmas) – still in place as of February 2023
    • Technically a biosecurity matter
    • Entailed extra customs inspections because of concerns over contamination –
    • Effectively banned all imports of Australia lobsters into China since they need to be consumed within 72 hours – therefore loads were perishing on the airport tarmacs in China.
  • An explanation of how the industry has been impacted in terms of:
    • Value of sales / production
  • China was Australia’s main buyer of lobster exports (94% of market export sales in 2018/19)
  • Worth $544 million in 2019-20
  • The trade slumped by 99 per cent in the year to April 2021, compared to the same period the previous year.
    • Jobs / employment
  • Coastal areas of South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia
  • Many small family businesses that have trawlers – large impact
    • Local communities particularly impacted
  • Any communities reliant on lobster sales
  • Low prices have meant reduced income for them (prices fell by about 50% over the period)