HCMC – The Ministry of Industry and Trade (MIT) has launched an anti-dumping and anti-subsidy investigation into sugar products that originate from Thailand following a request from domestic sugar producers.
The domestic sugar manufacturing sector also provided the ministry with information and evidence indicating that sugar imported from Thailand was being dumped in the Vietnamese market, while the Thai government has been upholding some subsidy policies for growing sugar.
The investigation, which will be conducted in line with prevailing regulations, is aimed at creating an environment of fair competition and protecting the local sugar industry and domestic sugar producers, according to the ministry.
Over the past eight months, the volume of sugar imported to Vietnam surged by six fold against the same period last year at 950,000 tons, with the import of Thai sugar reaching 860,000 tons compared to the 2019 figure of 300,000 tons.
The upsurge in sugar imports has impacted the local sugar industry, according to the domestic sugar producers.
The output of sugar in the 2019-2020 season is expected to reach 800,000 tons, dipping sharply against the output of 1.2 million tons seen in the 2018-2019 season, VietnamPlus news site reported.
Vietnam has cut sugar import tariffs on ASEAN countries since January 1 as committed to in the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement.
