Indian saturated fatty alcohol duty opposed

A proposed anti-dumping duty (ADD) on saturated fatty alcohol imports into India could raise the prices of soap, shampoos and detergents in the country, claims the Indian Surfactant Group (ISG).

In February, India’s Directorate General of Trade Remedies recommended a higher ADD rate on saturated fatty alcohol imports of chain length C12-C18 and their blends from Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, Argus Media wrote on 8 May.

India had originally imposed the ADD on 25 May 2018 for five years but prior to its end, Indian oleochemical producer VVF India (VVF) had requested its continu- ance and a higher rate, claiming continued dumping and injury to itself.

However, the ISG urged India’s finance minister not to implement the new duties, saying they would significantly affect costs for producers and users of sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and sodium lauryl ether sulphate (SLES) used to produce detergents, shampoos and personal care products, Argus Media wrote.

The recommended rate of duties, depending on the company, would be: US$240-US$263/tonne for Indonesian imports; US$58-US$250/tonne for Malaysian imports; and US$107-US$180/tonne for

Thai imports. Indonesia’s Ecogreen Oleochemicals, Musim Mas and Energi Sejahtera Mas would be exempt, the report said.

SLS and SLES were manufactured from saturated fatty alcohols and could be imported free of any basic custom duties from ASEAN countries, making domestic production uncompetitive, the report said.

According to the Ministry of Commerce, VVF and Godrej are the only two domestic producers of SLS and SLES, and India imported 104,621 tonnes of saturated fatty alcohols from October 2020 to September 2021 while total demand is about 145,000 tonnes/year.