Australia is set to lift the anti-dumping measure it slapped on Philippine canned pineapples, about a decade and half after the penalty was imposed, according to the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The lifting of the anti-dumping measures means that the Philippines may resume exporting pineapple products to Australia, widening the market access and further boosting the export prospects for the tropical fruit.
“This means that, under the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA), the Philippines can already export canned pineapples duty-free to Australia once the measure expires on 17 October 2021 for consumer canned pineapples, and on 13 November 2021 for Food Service Industrial (FSI) canned pineapples,” the DA said in a statement released on Thursday afternoon.
The imposition of anti-dumping measures or duties is a trade measure implemented by a country on an imported product that is deemed to be sold abroad at a price lower than its domestic market.
Anti-dumping measures are meant to protect the importing country’s competing domestic industries from the injuries caused by the products that are being dumped.
“Our trading relationship with Australia has been a healthy one, except for this kind of impediment that had blocked the entry of Philippine agriculture exports to that country,” Agriculture Secretary William D. Dar said.
“This is a most propitious opportunity for the Philippine pineapple sector, given its dramatic growth performance this past couple of years.”
The agriculture chief said pineapple is the next booming export fruit for the Philippines that can “capture a big slice of the export market given the country’s comparative advantage” in producing it.
The Australian government first imposed the anti-dumping measure in 2006 for a period of five years after Golden Circle Limited, the sole producer of canned pineapples in Australia, lodged an application with its government requesting for the imposition of the said measure on canned pineapples imported from the Philippines, according to the DA.
The anti-dumping measure was extended for another five years in 2011, and subsequently for another five years in 2016, the DA added.
“In its two reports issued on 06 October 2021, Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC) decided to discontinue the said measure on canned pineapples from the Philippines, following findings that its expiration will neither lead to the dumping of the products concerned nor cause material injury to the domestic industry,” it said.
“The ADC initiated an expiry review on 25 January 2021, after Golden Circle sought for the extension of the imposition of the anti-dumping measure for another five years.”
In April, the Philippines reiterated its request for Australia to provide market access on several agricultural products, including pineapples. In a virtual dialogue between Philippine and Australian officials, Manila requested Canberra to terminate its anti-dumping measure on Philippine canned pineapples. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/05/01/phl-renews-bid-for-wider-access-of-agri-exports-to-australia/)
The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) earlier reported that pineapple was the most lucrative agricultural commodity last year as it recorded a 526-percent return on investment (ROI), the highest among the 27 local farm and fish products. (Related story: https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/10/04/pineapple-is-most-profitable-crop-psa/)
The country’s pineapple harvest climbed to a new record and boosted fruit production in the first semester, based on PSA data. Pineapple output expanded by 5.16 percent to 1.407 million metric tons (MMT) in the first semester from the 1.338 MMT recorded a year ago. Based on historical data, the latest figure is the country’s highest first-half pineapple production.
PSA data showed that the country’s shipments of pineapples and pineapple products rose by 3.56 percent to 1.046 MMT in the first semester from 1.01 MMT last year. In terms of value, pineapple shipments expanded by 9.36 percent to $671.827 million from $614.336 million.
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