PAFMIL asks for extension of Turkish flour anti-dumping duty
FLOUR MILLERS are seeking for a five-year extension of the anti-dumping duty on Turkish flour due to expire in 2020.
In a statement, the Philippine Association of Flour Millers (PAFMIL) said it has already sent a letter to the Department of Agriculture seeking for it to endorse its request to the Tariff Commission (TC) for the review of the expiration of the anti-dumping duty on wheat flour from Turkey.
The TC announced the initiation of a review of the levy’s expiry on Aug. 29, while a preliminary conference is set on Sept. 9.
Under Republic Act 8752, or the Anti-Dumping Act of 1999, a petition for extension should be filed six months before expiration.
The TC imposed an anti-dumping duty of up to 16.19% on Turkish flour on Jan. 8, 2015 after it considered to be a threat to local manufacturers. The levy is due to expire after five years or on Jan. 8, 2020. An expiry review will determine whether there is a need to extend the duration of the duty.
“PAFMIL claims that there exists a need to extend the dumping duty on Turkish flour due to the likelihood of recurrence of dumping and again becoming a threat to the local industry which is still recovering from losses caused by dumped Turkish flour in the past,” the group said in a statement.
Turkey is considered to be the world’s top flour exporter, processing 18 million tons of flour for both domestic and export markets, but still lacks in capacity. According to PAFMIL, the Philippines is the third biggest market of Turkish flour after Iraq and Syria.
“Turkey exported $68.5 million worth of wheat flour to the Philippines in 2012, representing eight percent of Turkish total wheat flour export. Iraq and Indonesia also imposed additional duties on Turkish flour,” PAFMIL said.
The PAFMIL is composed of seven flour milling companies, namely Universal Robina Corp., RFM Corp., Liberty Flour Mills (LFM), General Milling Corp., Wellington Flour Mills (WFM), Pilmico Foods Corp. (PFC) and Philippine Flour Mills (PFM). The group was joined by San Miguel Mills, Philippine Foremost Milling Corp., Atlantic Grains Inc., and Asian Grains and Morning Star Milling Corp. in its petition for the extension of the anti-dumping duty. — Vincent Mariel P. Galang
