According to Australian Bureau of Statistics data, semen exports to China have jumped from about 20,000 doses in 2014-15 and 2015-16 to about 65,000 doses in 2016-17 and more than 140,000 the following year.
Genetics Australian chief executive Anthony Shelly said he expected the growth to continue.
“In the next 12-18 months, we expect it to continue to rise exponentially,” Mr Shelly said.
China has about seven to eight million dairy cows.
Mr Shelly estimated it needed about 15 million doses of semen. The Chinese dairy genetics market was dominated by the US.
“We are not going to take that space,” he said.
“But we are starting to open up the market.
“Their initial purchases have been strong and the sentiment on quality is also strong.
“The rate of gain (in sales) has been significant.”
Mr Shelly said part of the reason behind the rise in Chinese purchases of Australian dairy semen centred around the live export of cattle.
He said China had bought many dairy cows from Australia, New Zealand and Uruguay in recent years.
“The upside is that a high percentage of those cows going into China are from Australia. So now they want to use Australian semen to continue to breed that next generation of livestock,” he said.
About 75 per cent of the Australian semen sales to China come from Genetics Australia.
Mr Shelly said the sales ­allowed the dairy genetics company to use its facilities much more efficiently.
He said the exports represented about 25 per cent of total sales by volume during the past 12 months.
“But, unfortunately, that’s not that same percentage in value,” he said.
Mr Shelly said the Chinese sales were having flow-on effects to other countries in the region.
“There has been some inquiry from South-East Asian countries in the past one to two years on the back of sales to China,” he said.
“If we can continue a successful business, it will allow us a stronger global brand that enables us to market into other countries as well.”