Originally Posted by
Asturias56
But it cost you.................. "China imposed a A$24bn ($16bn) hit on Australia, representing 5.5% of its total annual exports."
and you're still exporting to them
It didn't overall. Now going to lead into this by saying I work for a mining company in IT so dont actually know mining but have lunch with actual miners who know the industry
The mine I worked at was 100% going to china. Now the embargo drops, panic sets in as we 100% export to china through 3rd parties. Thing is being a new mine they had to spend billions to get it setup, for this you apply to international banks for development loans. As a company you have no history of assets to take a loan out against. So they look at what long term supply contracts you have, the buyers know this so they play hardball and you have to give them fairly substantial discounts on the spot price to get them sign up for the 10 years.
Now that they are buying the contracts null and void. We had indian and taiwanese buyers knocking down our door to buy the discounted former chinese supply. Cant speak for the other companies and industries but the embargo was great for the company I work for we, 15-20% extra profit over the estimates. Now the embargo is dropped the chinese buyers are back but we have no excess production to sell. We are selling to india, Taiwan and Japanese buyers with any excess above the contracted supply put onto the global market and thats generally ending up in china but its small percentage of our production. Work on 10%
Not all industries are the same, but minerals and a primary are fungiable, its not that hard to find new buyers. Australia accounts for 61% of china's iron ore imports. War happens, immediately 61% of the iron ore used to make ships, tanks, guns is gone. 40% of their thermal coal is gone, 70% metalogical coal is gone. Thats not including the probable naval blockade
OH and just an edit for much of an effect a war with china in the indo is going to effect everyone. BIggest, by dollar, exporter of coal in the world is Australia. The biggest exporter of coal, by tonnage, is indonesia. Both next door and both in the firing line of any indopacific war