Senator Cynthia Villar of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food conducted a public hearing on the “Reported Dumping of Turkish Flour and the Seeming Lack or Insufficiency of Government Action in Order to Adopt Appropriate Policies That Will Ensure Food Quality and Safety, Stability of Food Supply and Prices, and Fair Competition for Local Industries”, as contained in Senate Resolution No. 774 introduced by Senator Alan Peter S. Cayetano. Venue is Committee Room 2, Senate of the Philippines last August 27, 2014.
The Turkish flour imports account to about 7 percent of the market and has been subjected to the provisional anti-dumping measure by the Department of Agriculture aimed at protecting the business of the flour industry group. The Philippine Association of Flour Millers, Inc. ( Pafmil) in behalf of the local millers is said to suffer from the entry of Turkish flour together with their 10,000 direct workers. Pafmil imports US Wheat ranging from 2.1-2.3 million tons or equivalent to $699 Million a year.
Turkish flour from the presentation is priced 20 to 30 percent lower compared to that produced by Pafmil members, with 90% of which are soft flour for biscuits, cookies, and pastries. Noodles and pan de sal are made from soft flour. Their main market are small community bakers roughly estimated to be 25,000.
Dumping is an informal name for the practice of selling a product in a foreign country for less than either (a) the price in the domestic country, or (b) the cost of making the product.