Taiwan may impose an anti-dumping duty on cement products from China in the coming months if the government can confirm a negative impact on the local cement industry.

It was the fifth anti-dumping investigation launched by Taiwan against China.

The Ministry of Economic Affairs' International Trade Commission determined in a meeting Wednesday that Portland cement Types I, II and their clinker have caused "material damage" to Taiwanese companies.

Type I and II cement are often used in construction projects involving reservoirs, roads, harbors and wharfs, said Juan Chuan-ho, deputy executive secretary of the commission.

The Taiwan government started the anti-dumping investigation on on Nov. 26, 2010 after eight major cement companies in Taiwan filed a joint complaint on Oct. 5, 2010.

Statistics show that cement demand in Taiwan had declined between 2007 and 2009, while the local market share of Chinese products continued to rise, Juan said.

China's share of Taiwan's total cement imports also rose to 90.3 percent during that period, he said.

In addition, the commission found that the price of China cement remained lower than Taiwan products during the period, he said.

The findings of the latest investigation will be forwarded to the Ministry of Finance (MOF) before February, Juan said.

The MOF will then determine, by April, if the government should impose an anti-dumping tariff on China cement, he added. (By Lin Shu-yuan and Alex Jiang) ENDITEM /pc