US-based concentrated lemon juice producer Ventura Coastal filed a petition with the US Department of Commerce (DOC) and the US International Trade Commission (ITC) on December 30, 2021, claiming that lemon juice from South Africa and Brazil is being sold in the country at a less than fair value.
Ventura Coastal claims lemon juice from both these countries may threaten their industry. The company wants antidumping duties (AD) imposed on imports of lemon juice from South Africa and Brazil.
According to US law, if a domestic industry petitions the government to initiate an AD investigation to determine whether an imported product is being dumped, AD duties may be imposed if the DOC finds evidence of the claim.
If the petition succeeds in February, lemon juice producers in the country will receive antidumping tariffs and this will have a devastating impact on the thriving industry.
The petition mentions South African producers Cape Fruit Processors and Venco Fruit Processors as the subjects of the probe by the US company.
Data from the Citrus Growers’ Association (CGA) shows that SA’s citrus farmers exported 161.6 million cartons of fruit in 2021, compared with just 18.6 million cartons in 2020.
According to the CGA, growth was seen across a number of citrus varieties with 29.5 million cartons of soft citrus exported, which was an increase of 5.9 million cartons from last year while export volumes of lemons also increased by nearly 5 percent, with 29.7 million cartons shipped in this year.
BUSINESS REPORT ONLINE