Orica says it welcomes the Anti-Dumping Commission’s decision to formally investigate the dumping of ammonium nitrate from the People’s Republic of China, Sweden and the Kingdom of Thailand into the Australian market.

This follows a joint application from a group of Australian manufacturers concerned by the impact of dumped product on the long-term viability of Australian ammonium nitrate manufacturing.

Orica CEO, Alberto Calderon, commented, “Recent oversupply in global markets has led to offshore manufacturers dumping excess product in Australia at prices well below the prices they charge in their own markets, and in some cases, below the cost of manufacture. We are for free trade, but also for fair trade. We recognise the important role imports play in providing customers with diversity of supply and competition. We just want to see the rules of the World Trade Organisation and Australian legislation enforced.”

“The Federal Government has previously taken measures to ensure Russian imports of ammonium nitrate are fairly priced, and Russian imports have continued to be an important source of domestic supply. We are now seeing imports from China, Sweden and Thailand being sold at prices well below the measures established for the Russian imports.”

Dumped imports from China, Sweden and Thailand have increased since 2015, displacing imports from other source countries, to comprise almost 50% of total import volumes in 2017.

Orica has provided the Anti-Dumping Commission with evidence of product sold into Australia at prices estimated to be between 17% and 44% below the price it would have been sold if the World Trade Organisation rules had been observed.

Calderon added, “We need to address this now. The proportion of dumped product is increasing and if it’s not addressed now, it’s going to have a real impact on the medium to long-term viability of this industry and put Australian jobs at risk.”