China on Monday launched an anti-dumping investigation into imports of barley native to Australia, the Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) said in a statement.

MOFCOM had received requests from the China Chamber of International Commerce (CCOIC), a nationwide business organization, accusing Australia of dumping vast amounts of barley by selling at less than the average value.

The CCOIC also claimed that the volume of Australian barley exported into the Chinese market had shot up with a slump in prices, and local producers suffered as a result.

The probe into barley dumping will be based on the data from October 1, 2017 until September 30, 2018, while an investigation of industrial injury will be counted from January 1, 2014 until September 30, 2018.

The investigation starting on Monday is to wrap up before November 19, 2019 and may under exceptional circumstances be extended to May 19, 2020.

According to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), from January to December 2017, China imported 6.48 million tons of Australian barley in total, valued at 1.283 billion US dollars and accounting for 73 percent of China's total barley imports.