China suspends Australian timber imports from New South Wales and Western Australia

China has suspended imports of timber from New South Wales and Western Australia after local customs officers found pests in cargoes from those states, the General Administration of Customs said late on Wednesday (local time).

The ban, effective from Wednesday, came after China suspended timber shipments from some Australian states including Victoria and Queensland, Tasmania, and South Australia.

When China announced its earlier decision to ban timber exports from SA and Tasmania, it cited a similar pest problem claiming it put the ban in place to “prevent the pests entering China and to protect our country’s forestry and ecological safety”.

Relations between Canberra and Beijing are being strained, with the Federal Government referring…