February 17, 2006

Indian shrimp exporters to seek US duty review

At least 25 Indian major shrimp exporters have decided to file review petitions before the US department of commerce (DoC) against the anti-dumping duty imposed on Indian shrimps. The exporters include Devi Seafoods with the lowest duty of 4.9 percent and Hindustan Lever Ltd (HLL) with the highest of 15.36 percent.

A meeting of the exporters in Hyderabad late on Tuesday, has roped in more exporters to the US for filing review applications. The US had imposed a 10.17 percent anti-dumping duty on Indian shrimps last January.

With the deadline of Feb 28 for filing the applications individually by companies fast approaching, it was decided to have the maximum companies seek review. However, it would be an expensive affair with each company having to chip in at least US$75,000 to file the application.

The DoC was expected to select three firms at random by Mar 8. "Though the normal practice is to select the three highest companies, a random selection could pose problems," the exporters said.

The export prices of the selected companies would be compared with the price to a third country based on the new duty to be decided. The average of these three companies would be the duty for other exporters.