Australian rock lobster fishermen are growing increasingly frustrated and uncertain about lingering Chinese government trade restrictions, months after the federal government declared they were on the brink of being lifted.

In late 2020, China’s customs agency blocked live rock lobsters from Australia – citing excessive levels of a heavy metal — as part of a wide-ranging campaign of trade coercion against the Morrison government.

Beijing has since lifted the vast majority of those trade barriers, including hefty tariffs on barley and Australian wine, as the Albanese government has successfully pursued “stabilisation” with China.

But the block on live lobsters remains, despite Trade Minister Don Farrell saying back in June he was “very confident” the issue would be resolved “very quickly”.

And while large quantities of Australian rock lobsters are still making their way into China via “grey” channels — including over the border from Hong Kong — prices have never recovered, putting the industry under a constant squeeze.

Fourth season without trade to China

This month, fishers in the South Australian Southern Zone, which stretches from the mouth of the Murray River to the Victorian border, started their season.

It is the fourth in a row without trade to China.

“Guys (professional fishers) certainly weren’t overly enthusiastic with getting back fishing,” said Nathan Kimber, executive officer of the South Eastern Professional Fishers Association.

“Every day that we fish and we don’t have that [China] market available to us is disappointing.

“It’s been disappointing for the best part of four seasons now.”

“We were quite hopeful that throughout the off-season there might have been a breakthrough, but unfortunately to date there hasn’t.”

Mr Kimber said pressure was again mounting on the industry, particularly with overhead costs soaring.

“Interest rates have increased, bait and fuel prices have also increased, while we’ve had a 40 to 45 per cent reduction in income,” he told the ABC.

“Anyone who runs a small business would tell you that those factors are going to create for really challenging times.”

Ban persists long after other barriers lifted

It is not clear exactly why the informal ban on Australian rock lobsters persists, months after almost every other trade barrier imposed by China has been lifted.

Foreign Minister Penny Wong last week said she would “continue to press” China to lift the barriers, while a spokesperson for the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) said removing the impediments “remains a priority for the Australian government”.

“DAFF will continue to work with the General Administration of Customs of the People’s Republic of China (GACC) to resolve outstanding impediments to trade,” they said.

“We continue to collaborate closely with the rock lobster industry on resolution of this trade impediment.”

Treasurer Jim Chalmers has also flagged that he will push China on the issue when he travels to Beijing for high-level talks at the end of this month.

The issue will also loom over the Australia China Business Council (ACBC) networking events in Canberra this week, which are being sponsored by a host of companies, including from the seafood industry.

Australian rock lobster will be served at the ACBC dinner in Parliament House on Wednesday night, as it was for Premier Li Qiang when he visited Perth in June.

Benjamin Herscovitch from the Australian National University told the ABC that China’s decision to maintain the informal ban on lobsters was “baffling for everyone”.

“In the lead-up to Premier Li’s visit in June there was huge expectation that … the removal of barriers on live lobster was just around the corner.”

“But week after week, month after month, the can is being kicked down the road.”

Dr Herscovitch said while bureaucratic delays could explain the long wait, it was also “plausible” that Beijing was pushing Canberra behind the scenes for concessions in return — for example, dropping some of the many anti-dumping measures that target Chinese products coming into the Australian market.

“Beijing has long been dissatisfied with that, remains dissatisfied with that, and might be thinking to itself, ‘If we can give Canberra what it wants on live lobster, we need to get something in return,'” he said.

“And that could be the removal of some of those anti-dumping measures.”

Market significantly changed since 2020

Meanwhile, those who depend on the trade for their livelihood have little choice but to wait and watch.

Wholesaler Andrew Ferguson said the industry had been “battling” through the China ban, partly by trying to diversify into markets such as Vietnam and Europe.

“I don’t mind expanding … The pricing is not bad,” he said.

Mr Ferguson said his Chinese customers for lobsters were also “waiting” for the green light from the government.

“The challenge is to try and reboot. Everyone says find another market but that’s easier said than done,” he told the ABC.

But he also said that even if China reopened to Australian lobsters, it was far from certain that prices would return to the highs of 2019 and 2020, partly because the market had been flooded with products from other countries.

“I don’t think China will be anywhere near [the market] it was,” he said.

“We’d go back in … but with a more cautious approach.”