A WA company is furious that Australian Customs has supported a request from chemical manufacturer, Nufarm, for continuation of an anti-dumping duty on imports of 2,4-D acid from China.

Chairman of WA farm chemical company, 4Farmers, Phil Patterson, Gnowangerup, says the result means there will be no reduction in the price for this herbicide group at a time when WA is facing one of the most important crop seasons for years.

Mr Patterson says Nufarm has applied for an extension of an anti-trade dumping restriction on 2,4-D it gained five years ago when the acid was being put on the Australian market by Chinese manufacturers, even though the company's operation consisted only of carrying out a minor process of imported stock.

"We were informed by our many contacts in China that Customs did not even talk to any of the manufacturers up there," Mr Patterson says.

"Yet the basis of this anti-dumping claim is that the product is being landed in Australia at a lower price than in the country of manufacture.

"We could have told them that the landed price in Australia of the basic 2,4-D acid has risen 70pc during the past five years, which makes it hard to believe that the current price could be considered a dumped one.

"Yet the Customs Department has just agreed to the Nufarm request."

Mr Patteron is also annoyed by a range of herbicides imported into the country that still have a tariff - including 2,4-D, trifluralin, triadimefon 500 and chlorsulfuron - while the tax on glyphosate is now being appealed by 4Farmers at the Administrative Appeals Tribunal.

Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Source: nqr.farmonline.com.au