Tariff uncertainty puts some Chinese hay orders on hold

Chinese customers are holding back on some orders of alfalfa from Washington’s Columbia Basin as they wait to see what happens with tariffs, a major U.S. hay exporter says.

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Some Chinese hay customers have put orders for Washington hay on hold while they wait to see if higher Chinese tariffs on U.S. hay stick, says Mark Anderson, president and CEO of Anderson Hay & Grain Co., a large West Coast hay exporter in Ellensburg.

“Things are up in the air for a couple of weeks. It’s too early to know how many will be affected,” said Anderson, calling it premature to say orders have actually been canceled.

Orders are transitioning from old to new crop hay so a 25 percent tariff, in retaliation for U.S. tariffs on Chinese steel and aluminum, is not that big a deal right now, he said. However, if the tariffs hold they could have “a big impact” on new crop alfalfa, he said.

China imports about 1 million tons of U.S. alfalfa annually, he said.

Japan, South Korea and other countries buy Washington Timothy hay, which China doesn’t take, he said.

There was some rain damage to first-cutting Columbia Basin alfalfa, leaving less premium hay than exporters would like, he said. Second-cutting is just getting ready to start, he said.

First-cutting Timothy is two-thirds to three-fourths done in the basin and Kittitas Valley, he said.

From: Capital Press