BRUSSELS, June 3 (Reuters) - The European Union said on Tuesday it will impose anti-dumping duties on citric acid from China, the latest product from the Asian export powerhouse to fall foul of the bloc's trade rules.

The punitive duties mostly range between 39 and 49 percent for the Chinese producers of citric acid which is used as an ingredient for food and beverage producers, a notice in the EU's Official Journal said.

Chinese imports of citric acid jumped 37 percent between 2004 and 2007 and prices fell 6 percent, eating into the market share and profitability of the two remaining producers in the EU, based in Austria and Belgium, the notice said.

The Belgian company, Citrique Belge, is part of Dutch chemicals group DSM.

In recent years the EU has hit Chinese goods such as leather shoes and energy saving light bulbs with anti-dumping duties and other big cases are in the pipeline, including anti-dumping investigations into imports of Chinese steel products.

Beijing has repeatedly denied its exporters break trade rules and says Europe is resorting to protectionism.

The citric acid duties announced on Tuesday will last six months and the EU must decide whether to apply them on a definitive basis, usually lasting five years.

(Reporting by William Schomberg)

Reuters, Tuesday June 3 2008

Source: www.guardian.co.uk