Philippine wheat flour millers want another five years of dumping duty imposed on Turkish flour, claiming the product remains a threat to the local industry still recuperating from losses caused by the import.
The Philippine Association of Flour Millers, in a letter to the Department of Agriculture, requested the agency to endorse to the Tariff Commission the local flour millers’ request to initiate an expiry review of the anti-dumping duty on wheat flour from Turkey.
The TC announced the initiation of expiry review Thursday. The preliminary conference is scheduled on Sept. 9.
The TC first imposed the dumping duty on Turkish flour on January 8, 2015 after determining that dumped Turkish flour posed a threat to the local industry.
The duty will end on January 8, 2020, five years after it was imposed. An expiry review will determine if there is a need to extend the dumping duty imposition. The Philippine Anti-Dumping Law (Republic Act 8752) requires that a petition for extension be filed at least six months before the expiry date
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.
PAFMIL quoted Turgay Unlu, chairman of the Turkish Flour, Yeast and Ingredients Promotion Group, as saying in 2017 that Turkey was targeting the Philippines as an export market, especially since Turkey had “important studies especially in the Philippines (in terms of increasing flour exports).”
Unlu also disclosed that that the Turkish government invested in a new global certification scheme for its wheat flour, which will be launched in the Philippines first and to be followed by other countries.
PAFMIL also cited reports showing Turkey to be the world’s leading flour exporter, processing 18 million tons of flour for domestic and export market while still having very high idle capacity.
According to PAFMIL, the Philippines is the third biggest export market for Turkish flour, behind Iraq and Syria.
