Trustee moves to kick off China Fishery sale; cites 65 interested parties
China Fishery Group trustee William Brandt is asking a New York court for permission to auction off the Peruvian operations of the Pacific Andes group, a potentially billion dollar asset.
If approved, the motion would see the auction take place on Dec. 13 with the sale formally closed on Jan. 15, 2018.
According to Brandt, "approximately 65" parties, some of who participated in the aborted 2016 sale process of China Fishery, have expressed interested in the sale and "several" have signed confidentiality agreements allowing them access to a data room with due diligence information.
Selling China Fishery, the fishmeal and fish oil producing subsidiary of parent company Pacific Andes International Holdings (PAIH), has long been seen by creditors as the best way to obtain repayment from a group with liabilities of over 1.5 billion.
The group was once the world's 12th largest seafood firm by revenue, as tracked by Undercurrent News's annual top 100 report, but a liquidity crisis and fallout from El Nino during the 2014 to 2016 period prompted a bankruptcy filing and restructuring effort.
The Hong Kong-based Ng family, which founded and built the group into a powerhouse, filed the June 2016 bankruptcy petition in New York in order to stave off a forced liquidation of China Fishery that they say would have led to a "fire sale", undervaluing the unit.
But after creditors levied allegations of fraud and asserted that trust in PAIH's management had broken down, judge Garrity appointed Brandt to stabilize China Fishery and arrange for its sale.
With its Russian pollock trading business stalled pollock trading business stalled, its Namibian mackerel-catching venture Namibian mackerel-catching venture on the rocks, losses mounting in its Chinese fillet processing unit and few significant assets outside of the fishmeal and fish oil business, a lot is riding on a successful auction of the unit.
Pricing the assets
A number of hurdles need to be cleared prior to the auction. First an Aug. 16 hearing will be held to determine the bidding procedures, a process that will also give the parties time to file objections. Also by that date, the trustee plans to begin conducting tours of the Peruvian operation for prospective bidders and host meetings with the operation's management.
By Oct. 16, Brandt hopes to determine a "sale threshold", a minimum price for the Peruvian assets. The drafting of a "plan of liquidation", which will include a plan of how the sale proceeds will be distributed to creditors, will follow. Final bids will be due Dec. 8, subject to court approval.
However, Brandt also called the schedule "aspirational" and "subject to change depending on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, the volume of bids and/or other indications of interest during the earliest stages of the sale process".
Previous sale
According to court documents, the previous sales process had progressed to where 18 bidders had received non-disclosure agreements to obtain more due diligence. Of that total 13 signed or were reviewing the agreements. Only two bidders -- a group involving Dutch fishing group Parlevliet and Van der Plas (P&), Iceland's Samherji and US private equity giant Blackstone Group -- and Peru's Brescia Group, the major shareholder of fishmeal maker Tecnologica de Alimentos Somos (TASA) paid $100,000 deposits needed to make it to the final round of bidding.
The interest of P&P -- which recently added a large tuna fleet to its pelagic, groundfish and shrimp vessels -- was previously reported by Undercurrent News. P&P and Samherji have several investments in fishing in Europe together, under the UK Fisheries joint venture.
TASA is the second largest anchovy quota holder in Peru, behind China Fishery.
Fosun Group, which had tried to buy into the Peruvian anchovy sector before, with an offer for Pesquera Diamante in 2014, is named as another that was involved in the process, in a combined bid with Shandong Shengli Bio-Engineering, a bioengineering company based in Jining, China. The interest of Fosun in China Fishery was previously reported by Undercurrent.
China Fishery was valued in 2015 at $1.6bn level, based on an assessment from JRB Consultores, which was then verified by the consultancy Deloitte. In order for the Ng family to receive anything from the sale, China Fishery would have to fetch more than $2.8bn at auction, according to financial analysis filed with the New York court. That figure is considered unlikely.
The Ng family had been hoping for over $1.7bn for the Peruvian business, but Jessie Ng, who heads parent company PAIH, acknowledged in legal documents in June 2016 that this was not possible, given the macro-economic situation and the company’s then state.
According to a declaration from Ng, however, there were seven non-binding expressions of interest from possible buyers for the company’s fleet and plants in Peru. Francisco Paniagua Jara, general manager of China Fishery's Peruvian arm, CFG Investment, stated non-binding offers for the business came in between $675m and $1.5bn, in a separate document.
China Fishery’s earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (ebitda) would be $200 million, in “a normalized year”, based on production of 300,000 metric tons of fishmeal and 50,000t of fish oil, according to the deposition from Paniagua Jara.
However, with El Nino hitting fishing in the past few years, this level of ebitda has not been achieved. Figures for the first half of 2016 show a big loss for the company’s fishmeal operations.
Corporation Pesquera Inca (Copeinca), bought by China Fishery in 2013 for around $780m plus debt, reported a net loss of $4.90m for the period from Jan. 1 to June 30, 2016. Copeinca’s turnover for the period was $108.48m.
The accounts state that Copeinca’s turnover for 2015 was $234.41m, with a net profit of $5.44m.
CFG Investment, which covers the other China Fishery-owned fishmeal and fish oil production companies, lost $13.74m in the first half of 2016, compared to $20.45m in 2015.
But more recently the situation at the Peruvian companies has improved, Brandt has said.
Copeinca exported 14,309t of fishmeal during the January to April 2017 period, worth $20.1m. The company exported 30,700t in 2016 worth $46.4m, according to Peruvian statistics. Copeinca maintained its position as Peru's sixth largest exporter.
The other Pacific Andes-owned fishmeal unit, CFG Investment, is recovering its fishmeal output rising from 18th place during 2016, when it produced 2,589t worth $3.8m, to ninth place. CFG Investment manufactured 7,688t during the first four months of 2017 valued at $10.9m.
Source: Undercurrent News. Date: 2017-08-01
Australian farmers wanted for more than just beef, lamb or wool
ACCORDING to Christina Goodman, an Austrade Trade commissioner based in Chengdu, the opportunity for Australia’s agriculture sector in China is immense and not limited to the premium end of the retail market.
Goodman said there are opportunities all along the supply chain for Australian agribusinesses in China, including partnering with existing Chinese players in the sector.
“Although Australia is seen as a provider of premium products, there are also opportunities in breeding and genetics, in animal nutrition, in joint research and development,” she said.
“I think there’s a place for both Australian exports as well as Australian expertise.”
The Austrade commissioner said China is already a large scale agricultural producer in its own right, feeding 1.3 billion people with only nine per cent of the world’s arable land and 7% of the world’s fresh water.
Chinese companies are looking for partners and are looking to Australian expertise to improve their own production rates.
“The Chinese marketplace is looking for more than the highest quality beef or dairy,” Goodman said.
Goodman said as China’s middle class experiences increasing incomes they are also demanding better quality food.
“There’s a huge push coming from the consumption sector and coming also from China’s policymakers to improve the productivity, the sustainability and the quality of China’s produce,” she said.
“If looking to export your goods or services to China it’s important to educate yourself, understand local ways of doing business, the local regulations and environmental requirements.
“Another thing that should be considered is your branding, if selling beef, lamb or wool it’s important to local consumers to know your story and it’s important to learn how to protect it.”
Source: Farming Ahead. Date: 2017-07-31
" Human error" blamed for China's beef ban
Meat industry leaders remain hopeful of a quick resolution to a shock temporary ban on exports to China from six Australian meatworks.
The suspensions sent trade officials and industry representatives into overdrive when news of the ban, which affects five companies, emerged in Australia late on Tuesday afternoon.
In response to the bans federal Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said he was prepared to travel to China next week. Mr Ciobo also revealed that early discussions between the two nations had yielded some benefit for Australian producers and the affected meatworks.
"Chinese authorities have indicated that meat that is already in containers on the water, that was dispatched before the 24th of July, will still be accepted by China. So that's a big sigh of relief," he said.
But given the scale and value of Australia's growing beef export trade to China, news of the bans has sent ripples around the industry.
Australian beef exports to China in 2015-16 were valued at $866.5 million, with almost $794 million of this frozen beef. China is Australia's fourth-largest market for beef exports and is growing strongly.
"Potentially, we're looking at tens of millions [of dollars] and potentially even more than $100 million of trade that's affected. Beef and lamb exports lay at the core of this," Mr Ciobo said.
The Australian meat industry is reflecting on a surprise temporary ban by China on product from six Australian meatworks. Photo: Peter Braig
Mr Ciobo said the ban did not involve health and safety concerns, describing it as a "largely technical issue" involving labelling.
The temporary bans affect meatworks operating in three states: Queensland, NSW and South Australia.
Australian Meat Industry Council chief executive Patrick Hutchinson said some consignments of meat sent to China "had some labelling issues, where basically the labelling is not meeting their standards, most notably in the area of definition. So they've put this temporary suspension on these six plants in order for them to get this right."
Mr Hutchinson said his phone went "into meltdown" when industry figures learnt of the bans.
"We take this exceptionally seriously and we're engaging with the authorities to get this solved ... this is a human error issue," he said.
About 46 Australian meatworks have approval to process meat to be exported to China (including the six local plants currently suspended).
"The China market for Australia is very, very important. Based on 15-16 levels it's over $900 million, as far as value is concerned. So [it's] a very important market destination for us that is also growing," he said.
"Our processing systems are world class, and in a lot of circumstances they're world-leading," Mr Hutchinson said.
Source: The Sydney Morning Herald. Date: 2017-07-31
Senators push for end to Chinese poultry ban
A bipartisan group of 37 senators, led by Sens. Thad Cochran (R., Miss.) and Mark Warner (D., Va.), wrote to Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue calling for the swift reopening of the Chinese market after U.S. exports of chicken and turkey were banned in 2015.
China instituted the ban in 2015 after the detection of highly pathogenic avian influenza in a wild duck, and the ban continues to be enforced today, in contradiction to World Organization for Animal Health standards.
“Poultry is produced in almost every state. For communities and states that rely on a thriving and growing poultry industry, these agreements are essential to a strong and vibrant future,” the senators' letter to Perdue said.
The U.S. is the largest poultry producer in the world and the second-largest poultry meat exporter, with nearly 18% of total product shipped to foreign markets. At its peak, the value of poultry exports from the U.S. to China was $71 million for turkey and $722 million for chicken.
“The poultry industry provides thousands of high-quality jobs in our rural communities, and the reopening of the Chinese market would provide a huge boost for these rural areas. We encourage you to remain focused on the next steps to officially reopen the Chinese market as soon as possible,” the senators added.
They said they are encouraged that China has begun its animal health audit of the U.S. poultry industry. Once the audit is completed, they are urging the U.S. Department of Agriculture "to remain diligent in seeking final Chinese approval for U.S. poultry’s first successful shipment as quickly as possible,” the letter said. “Poultry products are often part of the Chinese New Year celebrations, and our farmers would very much like to be able to offer their products during that time.”
In a joint statement, the National Turkey Federation and the National Chicken Council said, “Poultry producers are pleased to see a third of the Senate ... call for swift progress to end China’s ban on U.S. poultry. It is critical that we continue to develop an open trading relationship with the Chinese. The Senate’s strong statement on behalf of American poultry products makes clear balance and fairness must exist for a two-way open market with China.”
Joining Warner and Cochran in signing the letter are: Sens. Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.), Roy Blunt (R., Mo.), John Boozman (R., Ark.), Richard Burr (R., N.C.), Shelley Moore Capito (R., W.Va.), Tom Carper (D., Del.), Chris Coons (D., Del.), John Cornyn (R., Texas), Tom Cotton (R., Ark.), Joe Donnelly (D., Ind.), Joni Ernst (R., Iowa), Dianne Feinstein (D., Cal.), Al Franken (D., Minn.), Chuck Grassley (R., Iowa), Kamala Harris (D., Cal.), Heidi Heitkamp (D., N.D.), John Hoeven (R., N.D.), Johnny Isakson (R., Ga.), Tim Kaine (D., Va.), Amy Klobuchar (D., Minn.), Mike Lee (R., Utah), Claire McCaskill (D., Mo.), Jerry Moran (R., Kan.), David Perdue (R., Ga.), Pat Roberts (R., Kan.), Mike Rounds (R., S.D.), Tim Scott (R., S.C.), Richard Shelby (R., Ala.), Debbie Stabenow (D., Mich.), Luther Strange (R., Ala.), John Thune (R., S.D.), Thom Tillis (R., N.C.), Chris Van Hollen (D., Md.), Roger Wicker (R., Miss.) and Todd Young (R., Ind.).
Source: Feedstuffs. Date: 2017-07-31
EU-China special products pact offers bright future for Europe’s exports
In June, the EU and China published a list of 200 European and Chinese geographical indications (GIs) that are protected on their respective markets, as part of a bilateral deal that should be concluded by December. EURACTIV’s partner Italia Oggi reports.
Both parties submitted 100 denominations each but many European items, particularly those from Italy, have been left off the list.
This is because the European Commission’s selection criteria for its 100 denominations took into account GI market volume in China and the potential risk of counterfeiting. Only one product from the South of Italy made it onto the list: buffalo mozzarella.
Once pen was put to paper on the agreement, the Commission immediately began negotiations with the EU member states in order to include other products on the list.
A first draft added a further 162 European products and Protected Geographical Indications (PGIs), including five Sicilian items, all selected based on predicted demand in China. In January, China in fact eliminated its phytosanitary barriers that had hindered imports of Sicilian citrus fruit.
Quality schemes help EU producers break new markets
The promotion of geographical indications (GI) has helped EU products attract new emerging markets which seek quality food. However, Europol warns that fake GI products are on the rise across the EU and policymakers should not disregard the protection of intellectual rights.
Italian MEP Michela Giuffrida (S&D group), a substitute on the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development, asked the Commission to include more Sicilian products on the new list, in order to guarantee “territorial representation of the island’s products”.
She also told Italia Oggi that “I would like to have other interested parties involved in these consultations, such as consortia and producer organisations, because it would make these European negotiations more credible and more in accordance with the market’s demands and potential.”
The Italian lawmaker added: “This list of products protected in China does not mean that only those on the list will be marketed in China. No one is being excluded here.
“In fact, some companies are not willing to bear the costs. Some Sicilian producers were asked if they wanted to participate with a European delegation in two major agri-food fairs in Iran and Saudi Arabia. They declined the invitation because they thought it would be anti-economical for them.”
Who is driving quality in EU agri-food?
The EU’s Southern member states are the leading producers of foods certified by EU quality schemes: between them, Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and Greece account for 70% of the total.
Giuffrida insisted that the road ahead is clear and that the range of products agreed with China should be widened. She added that the “appeal” of GI’s is clear and that products bearing the stamp of approval often see an upsurge in foreign sales and demand.
Chinese products aspiring to obtain EU GI status include Yantai Ping Guo (the Yantai apple), Hengxian Mo Li Hua Cha (jasmine tea), Panjin Da Mi (rice), and Baise Mang Guo (the Baise mango).
The Chinese agri-food products market is one of the biggest in the world and is growing year on year, supported by a growing middle class, which has developed a taste for European food and drink, often due to increased experience of international travel. The country even boasts its own GIs, still unknown to European consumers.
The bilateral deal between Europe and China was welcomed immediately by Italy’s national confederation of cultivators, Coldiretti, which said that “the defence of Italian products from unfair competition posed by fakes and imitations will encourage Italian foodstuff exports”.
According to official figures, China’s consumption of Italian products jumped 19% in the first month of 2017 and foodstuff exports totalled €391m in 2016. The wine sector was the big winner, after China got through €101m of Italy’s finest bottles.
Source: Euractiv. Date: 2017-07-28
Salmon sector to use Chinese technology against harmful algae
The technique, known as flocculation, was able to convert green microalgae-laden water into clear crystal water in China, and now SalmonChile is trying to implement it in the south.
In 2008, at the Olympic Games with which China managed to impress the world, authorities took a striking decision to ensure the quality and purity of its water during water competitions. Thanks to technology known as flocculation, organizers of the Beijing event managed, within a few hours, to convert totally green water bodies, due to microalgae, into crystalline water.
And that same technique is the one the Chilean salmon industry intends to use to combat, among other things, the harmful algae bloom that last year meant the loss of 39,000 tonnes of salmon.
According to David Farcas, general manager of the research laboratory for the Centrovetagricultural and veterinary industry, the project started some time ago when they were approached from the Technical Institute of Salmon (INTESAL), SalmonChile’s technical branch, with the idea of adapting the patented technique by Chinese scientists for the Chilean industry.
"It is a question of using clay, which is a natural component of the sea, to capture microalgae and finally eliminate it. The technology developed by the Oceanographic Institute of China consists in modifying the electrical charge of the clay surface in such a way that when it contacts the microalgae, it sticks and then sinks into the sea floor, where it can not develop due to the lack of oxygen in the depth," explains Farcas.
Operational by 2018
Thanks to the joint work between Centrovet and INTESAL, the latest tests of the technology are currently being carried out in the United States to validate the best way to use the clay and to specifically control the microalgae that have affected the local salmon industry.
"The idea is that it is a solution to Chile's specific problems, so we have to get approvals from environmental authorities, which we hope will materialize in 2018," says David Farcas.
The expert comments that the intention is to incorporate the respective governmental entities (SAG, IFOP, SERNAPESCA) to the process, since the technology also has the potential to mitigate the algae blooms on mussel farming and artisanal fishing.
"The idea is that this technology can effectively help reduce the risk of algae blooms, along with other technology that is being implemented by salmon companies to monitor and mitigate the impact of microalgae," concludes the general manager of Centrovet.
Source: FIS. Date: 2017-07-28
Across China: Growing vegetables in Gobi Desert
Even during the dog days of summer, Zhang Guosen, 50, is hard at work in a greenhouse in Jiuquan, northwest China's Gansu Province. All around him, tomatoes, cucumbers and gourds grow in rows.
Zhang is head of the vegetable division under the Suzhou District Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Bureau and is responsible for providing technical guidance on greenhouse cultivation.
"We used to think it was impossible to grow vegetables in the barren Gobi Desert," Zhang said.
Located in the western Hexi Corridor, an important part of the ancient Silk Road, Jiuquan is notorious for droughts and barren land covered with sand and gravel.
A fragile ecosystem and lack of water have limited the development of agriculture.
The local government has come up with measures to help farmers, including building greenhouses and introducing organic soilless cultivation.
"We can take advantage of the abundance of sunshine in the desert to grow vegetables," Zhang said.
The greenhouses are built with sand and gravel. Locally sourced plant and animal waste is used in place of soil and fertilizer in the soilless cultivation, according to Zhang.
Compared to traditional vegetable cultivation, the cost of soilless cultivation in the greenhouses is lower because there is no need to buy extra fertilizers and pesticides. In addition, crop quality is guaranteed because of organic farming.
"We adopted micro-spray irrigation technology, which can save about 40 percent of water used in traditional agriculture methods," Zhang said.
Research and development institutions such as the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences and Gansu Agricultural University have helped the district introduce advanced technology, including wireless remote controlled equipment, multi-functional data collection systems, and carbon-dioxide generators.
"The equipment can be used to remotely monitor and change the temperature, humidity and concentration of carbon dioxide in the greenhouses," said Zhang. "Farmers can view the data on mobile apps."
So far, around 786.7 hectares of greenhouses have been set up in the district, and crops have been expanded to include mushrooms and grapes.
The greenhouses have also indirectly contributed to the prevention of land desertification in the Gobi Desert region.
Source: Xinhua News. Date: 2017-07-28
Why IoT, big data & smart farming are the future of agriculture
The farming industry will become arguably more important than ever before in the next few decades.
The world will need to produce 70% more food in 2050 than it did in 2006 in order to feed the growing population of the Earth, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. To meet this demand, farmers and agricultural companies are turning to the Internet of Things for analytics and greater production capabilities.
Technological innovation in farming is nothing new. Handheld tools were the standards hundreds of years ago, and then the Industrial Revolution brought about the cotton gin. The 1800s brought about grain elevators, chemical fertilizers, and the first gas-powered tractor. Fast forward to the late 1900s, when farmers start using satellites to plan their work.
The IoT is set to push the future of farming to the next level. Smart agriculture is already becoming more commonplace among farmers, and high tech farming is quickly becoming the standard thanks to agricultural drones and sensors.
Below, we've outlined IoT applications in agriculture and how "Internet of Things farming" will help farmers meet the world's food demands in the coming years.
High Tech Farming: Precision Farming & Smart Agriculture
Farmers have already begun employing some high tech farming techniques and technologies in order to improve the efficiency of their day-to-day work. For example, sensors placed in fields allow farmers to obtain detailed maps of both the topography and resources in the area, as well as variables such as acidity and temperature of the soil. They can also access climate forecasts to predict weather patterns in the coming days and weeks.
Farmers can use their smartphones to remotely monitor their equipment, crops, and livestock, as well as obtain stats on their livestock feeding and produce. They can even use this technology to run statistical predictions for their crops and livestock.
And drones have become an invaluable tool for farmers to survey their lands and generate crop data.
As a concrete example, John Deere (one of the biggest names in farming equipment) has begun connecting its tractors to the Internet and has created a method to display data about farmers' crop yields. Similar to smart cars, the company is pioneering self-driving tractors, which would free up farmers to perform other tasks and further increase efficiency.
All of these techniques help make up precision farming or precision agriculture, the process of using satellite imagery and other technology (such as sensors) to observe and record data with the goal of improving production output while minimizing cost and preserving resources.
Future of Farming: IoT, Agricultural Sensors, & Farming Drones
Smart agriculture and precision farming are taking off, but they could just be the precursors to even greater use of technology in the farming world.
BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, predicts that IoT device installations in the agriculture world will increase from 30 million in 2015 to 75 million in 2020, for a compound annual growth rate of 20%.
The U.S. currently leads the world in IoT smart agriculture, as it produces 7,340 kgs of cereal (e.g. wheat, rice, maize, barley, etc.) per hectare (2.5 acres) of farmland, compared to the global average of 3,851 kgs of cereal per hectare.
And this efficiency should only improve in the coming decades as farms become more connected. OnFarm, which makes a connected farm IoT platform, expects the average farm to generate an average of 4.1 million data points per day in 2050, up from 190,000 in 2014.
Furthermore, OnFarm ran several studies and discovered that for the average farm, yield rose by 1.75%, energy costs dropped $7 to $13 per acre, and water use for irrigation fell by 8%.
Given all of the potential benefits of these IoT applications in agriculture, it's understandable that farmers are increasingly turning to agricultural drones and satellites for the future of farming.
The future of farming is in collecting and analyzing big data in agriculture in order to maximize efficiency. But there are far more trends to understand with the IoT, and the Internet of Things will touch many more industries than just farming.
Source: Business Insider. Date: 2017-07-27
Vietnam's agro-forestry-aquatic exports hit 20.45 billion USD in 7 months
The export value of agro-forestry-aquatic products reached 20.45 billion USD in the first seven months of this year, up 14.7 percent against the same period last year, reported to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.
Key farm produce raked in 10.89 billion USD (up 18 percent) while aquatic products earned 4.31 billion USD (up 17.5 percent) and forestry products brought home 4.41 billion USD (up 10.8 percent).
Vietnam shipped 3.3 million tonnes of rice worth 1.5 billion USD abroad, up 15.7 percent in volume and 13.7 percent in value compared to the Jan-July period of 2016.
Meanwhile, coffee and cashew nut exports maintained stable growth in the period thanks to higher prices. The country earned 2.12 billion USD from exporting 937,000 tonnes of coffee and 1.83 billion USD from shipping 186,000 tonnes of cashew nuts.
Vegetable and fruit exports witnessed a year-on-year rise of 50 percent in export value to 2.03 billion USD in the reviewed period.
The export value of rubber also recorded a strong surge, reaching 1.13 billion USD, 59 percent higher than that in the same period last year.
Meanwhile, pepper export turnover suffered an 18 percent fall to 800 million USD due to a 30 percent drop in prices.
Source: VNA. Date: 2017-07-27
China orders halt to red meat imports from several Australian meatworks
China has temporarily banned beef imports from six Australian meatworks, the Federal Government has confirmed.
Australia was made aware of the ban on Tuesday, and Trade Minister Steven Ciobo told the ABC he intended to work closely and constructively with industry and China to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
The ABC understands the affected abattoirs are in Queensland and NSW, and include two facilities owned by Australia's largest meat processor JBS.
Other companies affected are Kilcoy Pastoral, Australian Country Choice, the Northern Rivers Co-operative at Casino, and Thomas Food.
Mr Ciobo said the ban related to Chinese concern about labelling non-compliance.
There is no suggestion health or food safety issues are involved.
"This is obviously a very material situation," Mr Ciobo said.
"We've got, potentially, very significant amounts of trade involved in this and so it's a matter that I'm very mobilised on, my team, my office, as well as our embassy in China."
Government adopts proactive approach
Mr Ciobo said Australia and China had a strong relationship that "sees us work through irritants", such as Australia's recent ban on prawn imports.
"We intend to engage in a very constructive way," Mr Ciobo said, and sought to reassure the beef industry the Government would adopt a very "proactive" approach.
The Australian Meat Industry Council confirmed it was working with the Department of Agriculture through diplomatic channels on the issue.
There are shipments currently on the water.
The ABC understands the Australian industry believes it has resolved the labelling issues, and the Government is hopeful it can resolve the issue before those ships arrive in China.
The Australian Department of Agriculture and Water Resources issued a statement on Wednesday saying the six affected export establishments were reported as suspended on the Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of China website.
"The department is working with industry and Chinese authorities to resolve the matter urgently," the statement read.
Australia's beef exports to China were worth more than $600 million last year, and China is the fourth-largest market.
More beef and lamb processors were given approval in March to export chilled meat to China in a deal struck at the highest level, between the Chinese Premier and the Australian Prime Minister.
But Australian exporters are also now confronted with a new competitor in the market as China opens up to US beef imports for the first time in 13 years.
Source: ABC News. Date: 2017-07-27