China this week announced it would lift crippling restrictions on South African wool exports.
It follows a South African government move to suspend all movement of cattle across the nation for 21 days in a bid to halt the spread of foot and mouth disease.
The Chinese ban had been followed closely by the Australian wool industry as FMD threatens to spread from Indonesia and also impact exports from this country if that were to happen.
Like Australia, most of the South African wool clip is traditionally bought by China's big wool processors, between 70-80 per cent of the clip.
South Africa is battling numerous FMD outbreaks inside the country but managed to negotiate agreements with trading partners on exports of "safe commodities".
Those originally considered safe were heat-treated meat and dairy products, deboned and matured beef, scoured wool, salted hides and skins and livestock embryos.
Despite assurances wool exports would be safe, China and Mozambique recently implemented trade restrictions which South African farm organisations claim was unjustifiable.
The SA government this week advised China had indicated it would lift those restrictions on imported wool products.
"We welcome the decision by the General Administration of Customs of China and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs to lift the ban on the wool and other cloven-hoofed animals' skin products imported from South Africa," South Africa's ministers of trade and agriculture said in a joint statement.
South Africa produces more than 42 million kilograms of wool from 8000 commercial sheep graziers, the ministers said.
The South African wool clip is valued at about $A430 million per year.
Australia exports almost 90 per cent of its enormous clip to China which makes it the most heavily reliant agricultural commodity on that country.
Australia's exposure to China was valued at about A$2 billion in 2019-20.
South Africa had tried to appease Chinese buyers by introducing protocols to regulate the storage of wool after shearing for a specified time at required minimum temperatures as stipulated by the World Organisation of Animal Health.
They say these measures were negotiated with Chinese authorities during the 2019 outbreak to limit the disruption to trade in circumstances such as the current one.
South Africa says no FMD outbreaks have been recorded in recognised wool producing areas nor have any small stock been diagnosed with FMD.
Chris McLennan
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
ACM national rural property writer based in Bacchus Marsh, Victoria. Career journalist. Multi award winner.
