Mexico has launched an anti-dumping investigation into apple imports originating from the US amid claims they resulted in “price discrimination”.
According to a notice published on 7 January in the Federal Official Gazette, Mexico’s Ministry of Economy has issued a resolution to open the investigation.
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It was prompted by a request from Unifrut, a local fruit growers’ union that represents more than 85% of the country’s national apple production.
Unifrut alleged that rising volumes of US apple imports and a “decreasing trend in their prices” have caused “material damage” to Mexican producers.
“During the investigated period there was a growing trend in apple imports originating from the US, combined with a decreasing trend in their prices, which do not cover the production costs of apples produced in Mexico, causing a containment of national prices and affecting its economic and financial indicators,” the notice read.
The union offered “arguments and evidence” to support the petition for a probe.
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By GlobalDataThe Ministry set the investigation period from April 2024 to March 2025, while the analysis of possible damage to the domestic industry will extend back to April 2022.
The probe targets merchandise classified under tariff item 0808.10.01, irrespective of the country of origin.
During the investigation period, apples imported from the US accounted for 97.5% of Mexico’s total apple imports.
Import volumes rose 9% during the investigation window and 30% over the full damage analysis period.
The notice further indicated that “dumping” of US imports has pushed down prices of local apples by 14% since 2022.
According to Unifrut, “this situation forced the domestic production sector to sell below cost, resulting in gross and operating losses during the period analysed”.
It said that “price suppression was evident during the period under investigation, since the increase in unit costs could not be passed on to an equivalent increase in the selling price of similar merchandise during that period”.
Revenue from domestic market sales fell 9.9% during the investigation period, with operating margins at minus 13.8% over the same timeframe.
The Ministry said it considers the union’s observation on domestic price containment to be “reasonable”, adding “there is sufficient evidence to presume that the increase in imports of the product under investigation, under alleged dumping conditions, negatively impacted the relevant indicators of the domestic industry”.
It will now notify identified importers, exporters, and the government of the US.
Interested parties will have 23 business days to confirm their legal interest and submit arguments and evidence for consideration.
