China eyes record-breaking Tasmanian Angus bull

Australian semen and embryos will soon be exported to China for the first time in more than four years in a major coup for the local industry.

Genetics Australia, including subsidiary Total Livestock Genetics, has been granted official re-accreditation to export both bovine semen and embryos to China, re-opening a potentially huge market for Australian genetics.

One prominent Tasmanian Angus bull is a likely candidate to join the push into China.

Uppercut, from the Hughes family’s Cluden Newry operation, sold to south-west Victorian buyer Lach McKenzie from McKenzie Ag in partnership with Agri-Gene for $275,000 in March, beating the state’s previous $240,000 record price for an Angus bull.

His first offspring in Tasmania was featured in the previous edition of Tas Country, born at Toliver Angus in the state’s north-east in recent weeks.

The bull has now been relocated to Total Livestock Genetics’ export facilities in Camperdown Victoria and is set to take Tasmanian genetics to the world.

There’s already strong demand from New Zealand, USA and Europe and Uppercut is expected to feature in newly revived exports to China.

AgriGene successfully collected and sold semen collected in Tasmania before the sale but the new owners were keen to expand.

“The plan was to get him to TLG so we could get him to the rest of the world,” Mr Onley said. 

“He passed all his health tests in the past few months and he’s now eligible for export to most countries, including the EU.

“There is immediate demand in New Zealand and USA and China is a market we haven’t targeted yet but is on the cards.”

Uppercut U15, a July 2023 calf sired by Dunoon Recharge R102, was out of a Cluden Newry-bred cow.

The re-accreditation follows an onsite audit earlier this year of the TLG export facilities at Camperdown by the General Administration of Customs China.

The timing is opportune, with China and the United States recently ending their trading agreements. Genetics Australia will work with its global trading partners to try to fill the void.

A start date for the resumption of exports is yet to be confirmed as health protocols to qualify genetic material have not been finalised.

The previous accreditation ended in 2021 during the COVID pandemic. Prior to this, China was Genetics Australia’s biggest export market.

It is expected that most exports will initially be beef genetics.

TLG operations manager Camperdown and Glenormiston, Ruth Barber, said it was exciting news but clients need to be patient.

“We can’t say that we’re trading tomorrow but as soon as the health protocols are finalised, which should be very soon, we will have a clearer picture of when we can resume.”

Ms Barber said re-accreditation was significant because of the four-year hiatus and the cessation of trading between China and USA over the past month. 

“Our global partners are now looking at Australia to fill the void because they can no longer trade with China,” she said. “We have been getting phone calls every day. It’s potentially huge we are well positioned at our Camperdown and Glenormiston centres to ramp up our semen collection and embryo production.”

Genetics Australia’s most recent genetics export package to China in 2021 was more than 100,000 straws.

GA export manager Rob Derksen said it was too early to predict quantities, but China ending the significant trade with USA should create big opportunities.

“We see most promise and most interest initially in beef but there should also be opportunities for dairy,” Mr Derksen said. 

“While demand in China for imported dairy semen has dropped over recent years, there is a growing appetite for beef. Our role and partnerships as part of the URUS group will help to provide a vehicle to get high quality genetics into China.”

The trade could include exports to China by private breeders who place bulls with Genetics Australia, exports of GA owned semen, the supply of genetics through the URUS group into China, the placement of bulls at GA for collection by international companies and customers using its collection and export service.