Canadian Pasta Manufacturers Association issued warnings about Turkish pasta imports two years ago
By Diego Flammini
News Reporter
Farms.com
Federal investigations have been launched into dry wheat Turkish pasta and if the products are being sold at unfair prices in Canada.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced on Dec. 28 that the investigations are being conducted under the Special Import Measures Act and as a result of complaints filed by the Canadian Pasta Manufacturers Association (CPMA).
Members of the CPMA are: Italpasta Limited, Primo Foods Inc. and Grisspasta Products Ltd.
“The (CPMA) alleged that, as a result of price undercutting from Turkey, Canadian industry faces lost production, lost sales, price depression, loss of employment, and reduced profitability,” according to the CBSA’s announcement.
The agency will examine whether subsidies are being applied to Turkish pasta imports.
The Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) will assist the CBSA with the investigations.
CITT will conduct a preliminary inquiry to determine if Turkish pasta imports are harming Canadian farmers.
The investigations are almost two years in the making.
Don Jarvis, CPMA executive director, told the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry in February 2016 that Canada was on the receiving end of unfair Turkish imports.
And the association is pleased to see a formal investigation into their concerns.
“We’re happy to see the CBSA open an investigation into the dumping and subsidizing of Turkish pasta imports,” Jarvis told Farms.com today. “Turkish pasta is being imported and has been imported at a very low cost for quite some time. The cost is dramatically lower than pasta imports from countries like Italy or the United States. In our formal complaint there’s also extensive information regarding the impacts on the manufacturers and Canadian producers.”
Turkey exported more than 830,000 tons of pasta globally in 2016, worth about CAD$140 million, according to the country’s Ministry of Economy.