All Italian exporters are shipping products into Australia at below their normal value, the country's Anti-Dumping Commission has ruled.
Earlier this year, after claims from Australian food group SPC Ardmona, the commission launched a probe into whether Italian tinned tomato exporters Feger and La Doria were exporting products at less than the normal value of the lines and had caused "material injury" to local manufacturers.
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Feger and La Doria account for at least 40% of the Italian tinned tomatoes exported to Australia.
SPC's claims were the company's latest on the issue. Last year, following an investigation looking at shipments from July 2012 to June 2013, the Anti-Dumping Commission found 103 Italian companies were illegally dumping products in the country. Those exporters are now paying dumping duties. SPC turned to the Commission again, claiming La Doria and Feger had "escaped duties during the first investigation".
In its report, published on Friday (4 September), the Commission said: "The Commissioner is satisfied that there appears to be sufficient grounds to publish a dumping duty notice regarding prepared or preserved tomatoes exported to Australia from Italy by Feger and La Doria."
The Commission said Australian manufacturers had suffered price suppression, reduced profits, lower revenue and the under-use of capacity utilisation.
The Commission called for a dumping duty notice to be published on prepared or preserved tomatoes exported to Australia from Italy by Feger and La Doria. It recommended preliminary dumping duties be imposed at margins of 7.5% of the value of Feger's produce and 5.1% of La Doria's produce.
SPC managing director Reg Weine said: "This decision is critical, not just for SPC but for Australia’s manufacturing industry and food processing sector. The future of Australia’s food processing sector, horticulture industry and the livelihood of Australian farmers is being undermined as more and more cheap imports flood the market and find their way onto supermarket shelves.
“We need a level playing field to succeed, and today's statement gives me confidence that SPC can continue to produce the quality clean, green Australian products that our consumers love and we are famous for."
