Australian exporters to China are bracing for a wave of further trade bans that will cost them billions.
Customs authorities in China have threatened to ban Australian wine, copper, barley, coal, sugar, timber and lobster from Friday, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
Wine exporters have been told by Chinese importers that Australian wine will not be cleared through Chinese customs from Friday. Wine exports are worth $1.2 billion to Australian producers.
The deadline is a major escalation in the trade dispute between Australia and China.
In recent months, Australian beef, barley, coal and wine producers have been caught in rising tensions with China after clashes over the coronavirus, Hong Kong and foreign interference.
More than 20 tonnes of live lobster remain stuck on the tarmac at Shanghai Pudong airport, where they have been since Friday. They are feared dead as Chinese officials carry out health checks on them.
China accounts for 95 per cent of Australia's $750 million lobster export market, leaving the industry - centred around South Australia and Western Australia - exposed to the trade tensions between Canberra and Beijing.
Johnathon Davey, executive director of Seafood Industries Victoria, told Today lobster exporters would suffer from any trade dispute with China.
"For our industry across the country, it would be a big blow," he said.
Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the Federal Government was aware of both the timber and the barley trade sanctions.
He said Australian officials would work with the Chinese authorities to investigate and resolve the issues.
Meanwhile, a former Australian ambassador to China has urged the Federal Government to rethink its relations with Beijing.
Geoff Raby in his newly-released book China's Grand Strategy and Australia's Future in the New Global Order said Canberra will "be taken less seriously and be less respected by regional partners if it is not able to manage its relations with China".
Mr Raby also warned that Australia's close ties with the US risked it become a "proxy strategic competitor" to China.
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