US shrimp tariff may help Guyana exports
Stabroek News
July 9, 2004
A decision on Tuesday by the United States to impose dutieson China and Vietnam - two of six countries named in a petition by US shrimpers for dumping shrimp on the US market, may mean better prices for Guyana's exports.
The US Commerce Department's judgement follows an anti-dumping petition made by the US shrimp organisation, the Southern Shrimp Alliance, last December.
Rueben Charles, of Pritipaul Singh Investments, notes that these duties could bring better prices for their shrimp.
"If US prices go up our prices go up," says Charles, adding that prices have dropped 34% in the last two years. The US market is huge for Guyana with exports averaging 50M to 60M lbs every year. He notes that the US and Guyanese shrimpers both harvest wild shrimp while countries such as China and Vietnam farm their shrimp using cheap labour.
The Permanent Secretary from both the Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Fisheries, Other Crop and Livestock was unavailable for comment as to the effects of this decision on the local shrimp industry.
In the petition it was mentioned that cheap imports had cut the value of the US shrimp harvest to US$550M in 2002 from US$1.25B in 2000, according to a BBC Online report.
In China, four shrimp exporting companies face between 0-7% duties accounting for 43% of shrimp exports; another 36% of China's exports will face 50% duties and the remaining 22%, 112% duties.
In Vietnam 36% of the country's shrimp exports face duties from 12%-19.6%; 42% of their exports face 16% duties and the remaining 22%, face duties of 93%.
James Jochum, assistant secretary of Commerce for Import Administration said on Tuesday that these are preliminary numbers, and that they often change significantly between the preliminary determination and the final determination. A report from Seafood.com News noted that investigators would be going to both countries to verify their assumptions prior to the final determination.