Cheap Chinese copy paper is flooding into Australia threatening local industry, according to an application before the Anti-Dumping Commission (ADC). Prices in the local market are supposedly well below the cost of production in the huge Chinese paper mills.
Printers are being sold paper that is 20% below what Australian Paper claims is the normal market price. As the sole local Australian fine paper mill, producing the iconic Reflex brand, it wants the new Government to take action to protect local production and jobs. It has launched a claim of ‘dumping’ against the Chinese manufacturers, which the Commission has taken up as an investigation.
- Jim Henneberry, CEO, Australian Paper
Jim Henneberry, CEO, Australian Paper, said, “Market pricing has reached such low levels in recent years that our future as an important local manufacturer and employer is under serious threat."
Australian Paper is seeking a dumping duty notice on A3 and A4 uncoated white cut-sheet paper, in the weight range of 70 to 100 gsm, exported to Australia from the People's Republic of China. According to industry sources, based on the alleged rate of dumping the duty could stand to raise import costs by as much as 20% in the event the Commission finds veracity
According to Henneberry, Australian Paper has been successful up to now in what he calls the "intensely competitive" office paper market, challenging imported sources on quality as well as cost. He goes on to add that recent low market prices are now threatening Australian jobs and the future of local industry.
Australian Paper’s application to the Commission specifically mentions consequences of dumping include reduced employment, reduced sales volumes and reduced research and development.
Australia’s leading market data, analysis and intelligence firm IndustryEdge confirms to Print21 that, according to its figures, at least some import prices are at historic lows, “especially in real terms."
“IndustryEdge has long noted paper prices that are more than 20% lower than the average import prices. In some months, the price margins are even higher and apply to as much as 50% of the imports of some grades of paper that are included in the investigation by the Anti-Dumping Commission,” said Tim Wood, director, IndustryEdge.
“It seems there is systematic over-supply from China being landed into Australia. Dumping, especially from a massive producer system like that operating in the paper industry in China, forces the price of domestic production down, especially in a small market like Australia’s. If it’s not stopped, dumping can seriously damage domestic manufacturers and their investments, and the employment they provide.”
Key to the investigation of dumping is defining the “normal value” of goods in a market, where the “normal value” is set by the home or exporting market. Decisions can be wracked with complexity and are often subject to outside pressures like government subsidies and countervailing.
Ross Hampton, CEO, Australian Forest Products Association, supports the investigation, and insists that in order to preserve Australian jobs and manufacturing capability the Commission “must address instances of international subsidies, predatory and anti-competitive behaviour”.
Australian Paper reports that it currently supports almost 6,000 jobs nationally, and contributes over $750 million to Australia’s GDP annually.