Expat's supermarket find in China reveals quiet Aussie win: 'It's everywhere'

Yahoo

3 days ago

An expat living in China has revealed a major shift in supermarket stock after making an unexpected Aussie find. Canadian expat Emily recently discovered American beef has been replaced with Australian beef in Chinese grocery stores on the back of mammoth tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump earlier this year.
It's the second time in recent weeks that residents in China have noticed American beef is no longer available, with the Australian product replacing it. Emily, who lives in Guangzhou, China, with her family, told Yahoo News Aussie beef is now "everywhere".
Experts believe Australia now has a major "advantage" in the billion-dollar beef export industry, with Australia achieving a record-breaking $13.9 billion in sales in 2024–25, a 12 per cent increase from the previous record set the year prior.
Emily explained she's noticed a "huge shrink" in American products in recent months after the Trump administration stunned the entire world by announcing reciprocal tariffs on just about every country on April 2, a day he called "Liberation Day".
Among the hardest hit countries was China, which had a 145 per cent tariff imposed on its exports, which was countered with a 125 per cent tariff on US imports.
It followed China not renewing the registration of hundreds of US beef facilities and America's $2.5 billion beef trade soon came to a grinding halt, with Australia seemingly stepping in to fill the void.
While a temporary trade truce between the two economic powerhouses was struck in May at a meeting in Geneva, with the US lowering its tariff to 30 per cent and China dropping theirs to 10 per cent for three months, many consumers have seemingly continued to opt for Aussie beef.
"Products like Australian beef are everywhere," Emily explained. When she filmed the supermarket video, which was viewed by millions across the world in May, she said she did a "thorough search" for US products.
"I confirmed there is nothing from the US in my local supermarket," she said.
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The fallout of the trade wars between the economic powerhouses has exposed an "advantage" for Australia in the beef market. Many viewers of Emily's video shared that they'd much rather eat Australian meat than any from the United States.
Professor Vinh Thai, a leading analyst of global logistics and supply chain management, told Yahoo News that Australia has much to gain from the current tariff situation, despite an initial "setback" of a 10 per cent tariff on Australian beef exported to the US.
He believes that the reduction in Australian beef exports to the US can be offset by finding alternative markets such as China and Europe.
"Consumer belief is very important," he explained, adding that Australia will always be considered a high-quality product. "That is our advantage," he said.
"Australian beef will still be considered as a top-quality and good reputation product compared to that from the US," he said.
Emily echoed this opinion, explaining that in China, "Australian food is always associated with higher safety standards therefore Australian beef now has a better reputation than American beef as the "cleaner" meat," she said.
"Now with President Trump's trade war and tariffs, Chinese people are more likely to choose Australian products over American products because of political reasons," she added. "I think this is also a situation in many countries, especially the ones that were targeted by Trump's tariff, such as Canada."
She believes China hasn't been as impacted by the tariffs as the United States.
"China's diversified economy and domestic market have provided significant buffers against the effects of these tariffs," she said.
"I sincerely hope Australia and China can maintain and strengthen their mutually beneficial trade relationship. Both countries have so much to gain from continued economic cooperation."
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