[ferro-alloys.com]China has ordered traders to stop purchasing at least seven categories of Australian commodities, including coal, barley, copper ore and concentrate, sugar, timber, wine and lobster, Bloomberg reported.

Beijing and Canberra have been locked in a geopolitical dispute since April after Australia pushed for an international inquiry into the origins of the covid-19 pandemic.

Reports by the South China Morning Post suggest that copper and sugar exports from Australia into China will be halted, after the country banned the import of timber from Queensland and barley shipments from an Australian grain exporter.

Australian rock lobster shipments were also delayed in Shanghai on the weekend.

China is Australia’s most important and biggest trading partner. The two-way trade between the countries is worth around A$240 billion ($171 billion), while China buys around 39% of Australia’s merchandise exports.

(Mining.com)

• [Editor:王可]