(Yicai Global) June 19 -- China will maintain anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on distiller's dried grains with solubles from the US, which may hamper sales in the latter's largest market for DDGS.

China will hold onto an anti-dumping duty in the range of 42.2 percent and 53.7 percent, the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement today. That for anti-subsidy will range from 11.2 percent to 12 percent. DDGS is maize or sorghum residue used in ethanol production. 

The commerce ministry believes that if the current duties are terminated, the products under investigation will likely flood into China again, seriously impacting the domestic industry. Therefore, it is necessary to maintain the anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on US-originated DDGS, the ministry said.

The US Grains Council filed a review application with the Chinese ministry in February, seeking to terminate the tariffs that took effect in 2017, with a period of five years. The ministry started to review the policy on April 15.

China's DDGS sector has recovered slowly amid a decline in US imports and some domestic companies still have operational difficulties, the ministry said in the statement, adding that some firms' average sales prices fell 7.5 percent last year from those of 2017. Domestic DDGS firms were basically at a break-even point, and some even suffered losses during the period, the ministry added.

US exports of DDGS to China exceeded 3.3 million tons from 2015 to 2016, accounting for 28.7 percent of the total. 

The US DDGS sector still maintains strong production and export capabilities, according to data from the US Grains Council.

Editor: Emmi Laine