A long-awaited meeting between Australia and China's top trade officials will take place next week, Trade Minister Don Farrell has told ABC's 7.30.

"We want to stabilise that relationship," Mr Farrell said.

"And in doing that, we want to ensure that we continue to protect our national interests and our national security.

"We want these trade impediments removed and next week I have organised to speak with my Chinese counterpart virtually, to start the ball rolling."

The meeting follows Foreign Minister Penny Wong's visit to China in December and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 summit.

Mr Farrell's virtual meeting will be the first time the ministers responsible for trade have met in more than three years and it is expected to pave the way for an in-person meeting.

A cautious optimism has been building among some Australian businesses and exporters that China may be willing to drop its bans on several Australian products this year.

But Mr Farrell was keen to temper expectations ahead of the virtual meeting with his Chinese counterpart, Wang Wentao.

"There has been about $20 billion worth of trade that has been affected," he said.

"Lobsters, the wine industry has been very badly affected, meat, barley, coal. All of those products have been badly affected.

"It is my objective, as quickly as possible, to stabilise this relationship and get our products back in front of the Chinese consumers.

"But we need to start the process."

'Terrible impact on lobster industry'

While managing to find new markets and new ways to diversify, Australia's rock lobster industry is still feeling the pain of the trade stoush. 

Before 2020, more than 90 per cent of Australian rock lobster was shipped to China.

"We used to supply over $700 million worth of terrific lobster into China," Mr Farrell said.

"That figure has now dropped to under $10 million. 

"There has been a terrible impact on the lobster industry."

Western Australia produces and exports the lion's share of rock lobster.

According to the peak industry body in WA, the value of exports dropped from $501 million in 2017-18 to $223 million in 2020-21.

"It was the most lucrative market for us," Western Rock Lobster Council CEO Matt Taylor said.

"China can take all of our supply, and they pay twice as much as the next market.

"The trade ban has effectively halved the income to our fishers.

"That has a flow-on effects to their families, because quite often a boat will support two or three families with fathers and sons working on that boat."

Cervantes Lobster Shack managing director Dave Thompson said his business had been forced to rapidly diversify and find new markets to survive.

"This has been the toughest few years that I've ever seen in this [industry]," he said. 

"Everything is going up and the price of lobsters is going down.

"We are surviving, but it has been survival mode for a lot of years. 

"You can't just rely on one market. 

"We have diversified as an industry. You seem to find people that want these lobsters all over the world, you've just got to find them."

'Unfortunate when politics get in the way of fishing'

Stephen Minutillo from Fremantle Lobster is a fifth-generation fisherman and third generation lobster processor — his grandfather Tony Vinci was a pioneer of the live export industry.

Mr Minutillo said the increased cost of fuel and other expenses had hit at the same time as prices had essentially halved.

He hoped to see trade with China resume.

"We were selling pretty much 90 per cent to China, maybe 98 per cent," he said.

"It is unfortunate when politics get in the way of fishing. 

"We have always been waiting and hoping that China comes back. We have great relationships with them, always have.

Other recent developments have fuelled some wary confidence within the industry, including a visit by China's top diplomat in Perth to Australia's largest exporter of rock lobsters this month, the Geraldton Fishermen's Co-operative.

But Mr Taylor said the industry would continue to focus on the things that were within its control.

"Expectation creates disappointment," he said.

"We are just getting on with catching lobster and exporting it to the highest paying market as we have done for a long time.

"The issues that confront us are out of our control. 

"It's a political problem. It's a political solution."

Mr Farrell reiterated the federal government's eagerness to diversify Australia's trade markets.

"We have learnt the lesson of being too reliant on a single market," he said.

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