Milling & Baking News - April 24, 2018 - 12

Business

China imposing 'dumping deposit'
on U.S. sorghum shipments
WASHINGTON - Trade tensions heightened between the world's top two economies last week as China announced a
178.9% anti-dumping deposit on the value
of U.S. sorghum shipments to the country.
Traders said the higher-than-expected
deposit would essentially halt U.S. sorghum shipments to China for now, and
raise prices of feed alternatives, such
as barley and corn. The announcement
comes just weeks after China threatened
a tariff on the grain, used largely for livestock feed but also in spirits such as the
fiery Chinese liquor baijiu.
The announcement from China's Commerce Ministry on April 17 said the deposits are temporary during the government's ongoing anti-dumping investigation. No timeline was given for a final
ruling on the matter.
China launched the investigation two
months ago in retaliation to an aggressive U.S. trade stance that included tariffs
on Chinese-made washing machines and
solar panels. China said U.S. sorghum imports were being dumped in the country
leaving its domestic industry "substantially damaged." The ministry said the United
States exported 317,000 tonnes of sorghum
to China in 2013 and by 2017 shipped 4.76
million tonnes, harming Chinese farmers
as the domestic price of the grain fell.
U.S. Grains Council records show
the United States exported 4,800,480
tonnes of sorghum to China in 2016-17,
up 217% from 1,902,700 tonnes in 201213, but down 42% from a recent peak of
8,907,770 tonnes in 2014-15.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny
Perdue in a statement April 18 rejected
Beijing's claims and highlighted China's
ability to choose its trading partners.
"The international grain market is about
the freest market there is, and it is ludicrous to even mention 'dumping,' because
China can buy product from anywhere
they choose," he said. "This is
clearly a political decision by
the Chinese, and we reject their
premise. Our sorghum producers are the most competitive in
the world, and we do not believe there is any basis in fact for
these actions."
Mr. Perdue reiterated the
Trump administration's stance on trade
practices and the goal of protecting
American agricultural producers, including growers who produce sorghum.
"As we explore options, we are in communication with the American sorghum
industry and stand united with them," Mr.
Perdue said. "The fact remains that China
has engaged in unfair trade practices over
decades, and President Trump is correct
in holding them accountable. We remain
committed to protecting American agricultural producers in the face of retaliatory
measures by the Chinese."
The 2017 tonnage of U.S. sorghum purchased by China was worth around $1.1
billion and comprised the bulk of that
country's total sorghum imports of about
5 million tonnes. Companies likely to
be affected by the deposits include CHS
Inc., Cargill, Louis Dreyfus and Archer

Richardson International invests
in innovation center in Winnipeg
WINNIPEG, MAN. - Richardson International has unveiled plans to invest
more than C$30 million ($23.4 million) to
develop an innovation center featuring
technology and equipment for research
and product development. The facility
will be located in Winnipeg and is expected to complement Richardson's food and
ingredients division. Richardson said the
center will provide "an extensive opportunity for industry collaboration."
"Our goal is that the Richardson Innovation Centre will become a center
for collaboration - as a training facility for our employees and customers
and an education center for food science
students and the culinary community,"
said Chuck Cohen, senior vice-president
12 / April 24, 2018

Milling & Baking News

of technology at Richardson. "As a Winnipeg-based company, we look forward
to bringing our customers, suppliers
and partners from around the globe to
this center to showcase our products and
capabilities."
The four-story, 62,000-square-foot facility will house Richardson's food development team, product development suites,
analytical laboratory and a culinary test
and demonstration kitchen. To ensure its
quality assurance and food safety teams,
the center will have a cutting-edge microbiology lab and an extensive quality
analysis area, Richardson said. The building also will include office areas with
room for expansion to focus on innovation such as the increased use of robotics

Daniels Midland, top sellers of the grain
to China.
The National Sorghum Producers, the
Lubbock, Texas-based group that advocates for growers, vigorously denied
China's dumping allegations.
"U.S. sorghum is not being dumped in
China, and U.S. sorghum producers and
exporters have not caused any injury to
China's sorghum industry," the group said.
The N.S.P. said the group, member producers, stakeholders and partners fully
cooperated with China's antidumping and countervailing
duty investigations, including
submitting several thousand pages of data "demonstrating conclusively" that U.S. sorghum is neither dumped nor causing injury
to China. The group decried the
apparent disregard of their data
in China's deposit determination.
"We continue to greatly value our
Chinese customers and what has been a
win-win business relationship between
U.S. sorghum producers and our Chinese partners," the N.S.P. said. "Today's
decision in China reflects a broader trade
fight in which U.S. sorghum farmers are
the victim, not the cause. And U.S. sorghum farmers should not be paying the
price for this larger fight.
"Understanding the serious impact this
preliminary decision will have on our
farmers, N.S.P. and our partners will continue to demonstrate U.S. sorghum farmers are not injuring China."
The U.S. Trade Representative's office
said it planned to review China's sorghum measures and take action if needed, possibly through opening a case with
the World Trade Organization. MBN
and automation in food packaging and
processing. The strategic positioning of
these core departments within the same
multi-level space will optimize research,
analytical and educational activities and
facilitate the efficient development of truly innovative products, Richardson said.
"The process of product development
requires a modern platform for testing
solutions, troubleshooting issues and exploring new ideas as they relate to market needs and evolving customer taste
profiles," said Curt Vossen, president
and chief executive officer of Richardson.
"In order to test derivatives of existing
products or create entirely new product
streams, our team's technical capabilities
must be backed by the right technical facilities. We anticipate the Innovation Centre will provide them with the technical
capacity and resources necessary to meet
and exceed customer expectations."MBN
bakingbusiness.com / world-grain.com

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Milling & Baking News - April 24, 2018

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