The Hindu Business Line : Probe into charges of dumping Penicillin-G from China begins

New Delhi, Nov. 7 The Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry has initiated an investigation into alleged dumping of Penicillin-G from China following a complaint from domestic manufacturer Alembic Ltd, Vadodra.

Penicillin-G is an organic compound and an amorphous white powder that is sparingly soluble in water but fully soluble in methanol, ethanol, ether ethyl acetate, chloroforms, acetone and benzene.

It is an antibiotic used in the treatment of bacterial infection caused by susceptible, usually Gram-positive, organisms.

In its application to the authority, the petitioner has said that other domestic manufacturers such as JK Pharma and Torrent Biotech Ltd have suspended production, while Southern Petro-Chemical Industry Corporation remains a major producer and supports the petitioner. The applicant argued that for the purpose of dumping probe the Penicillin-G produced by the applicant is being treated as like articles of Penicillin-G imported from China.

The applicant sought to argue that China being a non-market economy the normal value is to be determined on the basis of prices in India after deducting the customs duty applicable for the period of investigation (PoI). The applicant states that there is sufficient evidence that the normal value of the subject goods in China is significantly higher than its net export price, essentially indicating that “the subject goods are being dumped by the exporters” from China.

The applicant has marshalled evidence concerning the injury having been inflicted to the domestic industry as a result of the alleged dumping in the form of fall in its market share due to increased volume of dumped imports, price undercutting, lost sales and decline in profitability and return on capital employed.

The period of probe is from April 1, 2007, to March 31, 2008, while the injury investigation period would cover the fiscal years of 2004-05, 2005-06, 2006-07 and the PoI, the authority said.

More Stories on : Foreign Direct Investment | Pharmaceuticals

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page