Acting to protect Filipino farmers, the Department of Trade and Industry is conducting preliminary determination over complaints that PT Johnson Hygiene Products, the Indonesian unit of multinational S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc., is exporting mosquito coils into the country at dumped prices.

The DTI has already conducted a meeting on Dec. 10, for the conduct of the preliminary determination.

The anti-dumping complaints of mosquito coils versus Indonesia was filed by Green Coil Industries Inc. based in Mandaue, the country’s biggest manufacturer of mosquito killer products. The Mandaue, Cebu-based firm manufactures Lion Tiger junior size mosquito killer, Lion Katol mosquito killer, and Tiger Katol mosquito killer.

Other domestic players are Bendyson International Corp., maker of Dinosaurs mosquito killer and Philippine Valiant Chemical Products Co. Inc. for the Royal mosquito killer brand.

These Philippine-based mosquito killer product producers are fighting against the Baygon brands of SC Johnson and Son Inc.

These Baygon products are said to cost $0.185 per box in Indonesia, higher than the $0.11 export price in the Philippines, the Bureau of Import Services stated in a report.

Dumping, which is prohibited by international trade rules, occurs when a good is sold at significantly lower prices abroad compared to its price in the local market. If a probable cause is established after the preliminary determination, the DTI would conduct consultations and if there is basis then it will recommend to the Tariff Commission to commence hearing for the purpose of imposing anti-dumping duties against a specific country.

A DTI official said this is the first time that the local producers of “Katol” have formally filed their complaints against a foreign firm for anti-dumping charges.

“Dumping of mosquito coils has a strong impact on this industry because it has 100 percent local content,” the DTI official said. The raw materials for the production of Katol are mainly sourced from plants.