Australian cattle farmers producing wagyu and Angus beef are likely to be among the hardest hit by China's 55 per cent tariff on beef exceeding the 205,000-tonne quota.

China's global trade restrictions came into effect on January 1 after claims by farmers in that country that beef imports were hurting their profitability.

NSW Hunter Valley Angus producer Robert Mackenzie said the 55 per cent tariff would have a detrimental affect on his industry.

"There would be no way that you'd be selling any product into China once that tariff comes into play, so it'll be a little bit of a mess," he said.

Robert Mackenzie wants suppliers to have fair access to a quota system to supply China over 12 months. (ABC Rural: Amelia Bernasconi)

Mr Mackenzie's company, Macka's Australian Black Angus Beef, exports 26 tonnes of produce to China a month.

"I'm worried that a lot of the big processors will flood the market into China with trims, offal and bones, which will go towards making up that 205,000 metric tonnes," he said.

He said Australia's high-end products only made up 20 per cent of that annual quota.

"That could be chilled beef, Angus, wagyu products, and that's going to leave a big hole in the Chinese market for people looking for that higher-end product," he said.  

He said once the quota was filled by June or July and his Chinese customers were unable to absorb the tariff, producers would need to reallocate their products to other markets.

"Naturally, when we reach out to those other potential customers, they'll straight away know that the tariff has taken effect on Australian produce and they'll play a little bit of hardball." 

Mr Mackenzie said the federal government should work with the sector's peak bodies to implement a system to ensure fair access to the 205,000-tonne quota. 

"So if you're selling product into China in 2024 and it was "x" amount of kilos or tonnages you might be allowed to have that quota for 2026, and then it won't be such a rush to the door," he said.

"It's just going to be a rush for people to pump that product into China. It'll just go into cold stores, be frozen and they'll just use it throughout the year."

Professor Ben Lyons, from the University of Southern Queensland's Rural Economies Centre of Excellence, said the Chinese beef industry was difficult to understand, but it had been declining as rural workers continued to drift to cities where wages were higher. 

"A lot of Chinese peasantry have left the beef industry in China [and] we see a lot of aggregation, or larger herd sizes, to signify that," he said.