We are only five months into the calendar year, but 'unprecedented' is already the odds-on favourite for 2020's most over-used word.
However, it seems to be the best - and only - adjective to describe the concurrence of current economic and global events.
The term is not exclusive to news reporters and politicians. It also appears daily to describe the events unfolding in the Australian agricultural industry.
This year has seen a change in circumstances that were difficult to imagine at the back end of last year.
Demand for livestock to restock properties after above average rainfall, low herd numbers driving prices skywards and - of course - COVID-19 are all contributing elements to this rollercoaster start of a year.
'Unprecedented' has also been used to describe China's announcement on May 12 that resulted in the suspension of four Australian abattoirs that export red meat to that country.
This action is perhaps one instance where the adjective is not applicable to describe the issue and I - as a 22-year-old from Gunnedah working in the agricultural industry as part of the AuctionsPlus Market Insights team - will discuss the reasons why.
The statement has attracted 'rivers' of news coverage in recent weeks, with speculation that the suspension is over Australia's probing comments about the politically-sensitive issue regarding the origins and outbreak of COVID-19.
This is despite the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China spokesperson, Zhao Lijian, emphasising that the suspensions are not politically linked to the virus investigation.
Instead, it was Chinese State Customs that discovered some products from Australian abattoirs had not adhered to labelling and consignment guidelines between March 2019 and February 2020.
An article by Su-Lin Tan in the South China Morning Post on May 19, 2020 conceded that an unnamed Hong Kong importer said "food imports into China were subject to very tough regulations and it was common for some goods to fail to comply".
It is not the first time Australian red meat imports have not complied with Chinese export protocols.
In July 2017, six abattoirs were banned from exporting due to similar mislabeling issues. The suspension was resolved through diplomatic negations after three months.
The current suspension has sent shivers down the entire red meat supply chain.
Figures have been released - exacerbating these fears - indicating the suspension will impact about $1 billion worth of beef exports, with the four banned abattoirs alone accounting for one fifth of all Australian beef exports to China.
As chief executive of the Australian Meat Industry Council, Pat Hutchison, has previously outlined that - with China being such a big player in the red meat export market and willing to pay more than other markets - it is understandable that the industry is pleading for the government to resolve the dispute swiftly.
Despite these daunting figures, there are several grounding factors that are extremely important when considering the potential impact this will have on the beef industry.
The first is, Australia does not have total reliance on the Chinese market because of our diversification efforts.
There is not a single market that has held more than a 25 per cent market share of Australian red meat exports in 2020.
Scott Walker, Meat & Livestock Australia's regional general manager for Japan and Korea, announced that in April Japan was Australia's highest volume beef market - overtaking China.
He argued that Japan's reclaiming of the top position reveals "how critical the Japan market is to Australia".
