SYDNEY, Australia (CU)_Australian government has raised concerns about the “human-cost” of the standoff with China over coal exports, as seafarers continue to be trapped in more than 70 ships waiting to unload the goods.
As Canberra awaits a response through official channels from Beijing, the cost of coal continues to increase as a result of the deadlock, Minister for Resources, Water and Northern Australia, Keith Pitt, said during an interview with Guardian Australia.
It is reported that these ships laden with Australian coal have been stranded off Chinese ports for months, and although the Australian government has been unable to secure a call with their Chinese counterparts, officials in Canberra remain hopeful of dialogue.
“We are yet to hear anything through official channels that there has been any change,” Pitt said. “[…] as we do with all of our trading partners, we ask them to meet the agreements which we have signed, as Australia meets our end of those arrangements.”
Meanwhile, the opposition party has also raised fears of “a humanitarian crisis brewing off the coast of China”, and has called on the Morrison government to work to repair the relationship with Beijing.
Although this nearly 8 million tonnes of coal have already been purchased and paid for by Chinese importers, however, officials in Beijing have told the Australian suppliers to find new buyers since the cargo will not be unloaded in China.
And concerns have arisen regarding the welfare of the nearly 1,500 seafarers, who are trapped in these vessels, awaiting permission from Beijing to unload the coal.
“Clearly, there’s a human cost to these delays,” the Resources Minister said. “What I’d say to my Chinese colleagues is: I’d ask them to rule out any discriminatory trade practices against our country.”
Canberra’s already strained relations with Beijing took a turn for the worse after Prime Minister Scott Morrison called for an investigation into the origin the COVID-19 pandemic, which first emerged from Wuhan. Therefore, China took retaliatory actions against a range of Australian exports, which included the imposition of tariffs on barley and wine, and informal bans on cotton and coal imports from Australia.
Experts say this ban led to a surge in thermal coal prices in China in December, as the prices were about US$20 a tonne higher than elsewhere.
However, several agricultural and resources exports from Canberra have also been disrupted as a result of the trade tensions, and the Resources Minister said these sectors have begun seeking out other markets for their exports.
According to Pitt, although China is a “very strong market”, it is not the biggest market for Australian thermal coal. He noted that Japan imported about twice as much as China on average, while Canberra’s thermal coal exports to India in 2020 was double the level in the previous year.
“Australia has a quality product, which we deliver incredibly efficiently and effectively into those markets – we’re in the right place in terms of transport and logistics. And those fundamentals will never change,” he said.
