A REVIEW into the impact dumped Greek currants had on Australian dried-fruit growers will just be another cost to local growers.

That's the view of Australian Dried Fruit Association chairman Peter Jones.

The association launched a dumping case against the Greek currants last year.

In January, then Minister for Home Affairs Bob Debus announced he accepted the Department of Customs' assertions the currants were being dumped, as well as its recommendation to apply a "dumping duty" to the imported product.

However, ADFA now has until September 30 to submit answers to new questions from Customs.

Although the dumping duty will remain in force while the review is completed, ADFA chairman Peter Jones said preparing another response would add to the $100,000 spent on the case so far.

"It will cost us - I could answer the questions in 10 seconds if they ask me, but it will be three months and thousands of dollars again," Mr Jones said.

"Once they make a decision, that should be it - it's cost us more than $100,000 as an industry now, and it keeps climbing."

Mr Jones said the new questions put to ADFA "didn't make sense", such as questioning whether lower returns to growers in 2007 had been due to the drought.

He said most growers had 95 per cent water allocations in 2007, and West Australian growers who had seen good rainfall had been "hammered on price by cheap imports".

ADFA general manager Phil Chidzey said he was left "scratching his head" at questioning as to whether it was drought that had driven down prices paid to Australian growers.

"You just think, 'if they'd done their homework'," Mr Chidzey said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Debus said Greek currant importer Frutex had lodged an appeal against the anti-dumping measures with the Trade Measures Review Officer.

The officer recommended to Mr Debus that the determination of injury to the Australian industry should be reinvestigated.

"The reinvestigation can only take into account evidence that formed part of the original investigation - parties are not required to provide further evidence of their claims," the spokeswoman said.

Leslie White

June 10, 2009

Source: www.weeklytimesnow.com.au