Thai plastic-film makers to protest

The Indonesian government had already imposed a provisional anti-dumping duty on Thai BOPP (biaxially oriented polypropylene) products of 21.86 per cent from May 8 to September 8 - against the normal duty rate of 5 per cent - citing that the products were being dumped and were therefore damaging its local industry.

It is now imposing an effective anti-dumping duty of 21.86 per cent on Thai BOPP film from today, with the new rate scheduled to be in place for five years.

Thai BOPP film exports to Indonesia plunged by 62 per cent to Bt355 million during the four months of the provisional anti-dumping duty.

Komite Anti Dumping Indonesia (KADI) has unfairly investigated the Thai plastic products, as the organisation has not probed BOPP products from China, which is another major exporter to Indonesia, Nilsuwan Leelarasamee, secretary to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI), said yesterday.

He said the FTI and the Foreign Trade Department would soon file a petition to the WTO alleging an unfair ruling by the Indonesian government.

"The Indonesian government has unjustly investigated and imposed an anti-dumping duty on Thai BOPP film. As Indonesian companies have been taken over by Chinese plastics firms, its government has not investigated China's BOPP film exports to Indonesia," said Nilsuwan.

To impose a fair anti-dumping duty, Jakarta must also include the export value from China, he added, but only Thai BOPP film faced a provisional - and now full - anti-dumping duty.

Nilsuwan said Thai exporters had earlier filed a petition to the Indonesian government calling for a revision of the investigation. However, KADI took no account of this move and went ahead in imposing the provisional duty in May.

According to the FTI, the unfairly imposed duty will create a loss of Bt1.2 billion for Thai BOPP film exports per year.

Exports of BOPP film from Thailand to Indonesia were worth Bt1.45 billion last year, with a volume of 18,670 tonnes.