SC Johnson denies dumping mosquito coils, hits DTI order

The country’s sole importer of mosquito coils — SC Johnson & Son, Inc. Philippines — on Wednesday slammed the Trade department’s decision to impose higher taxes on its shipments from Indonesia. In a statement, the company denied selling imported products at drastically low prices, adding that it should not be made to pay safeguard duties for alleged dumping. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) has published a February 15 order imposing provisional anti-dumping duties on mosquito coils from Malaysia at 40 cents per kilogram. The duty is equivalent to 40 percent of the export price. It will be slapped on imports while the Tariff Commission investigates Green Coil Industries, Inc.’s complaint against SC Johnson Philippines. Green Coil, the Cebu-based manufacturer behind the Tiger Katol brand, had complained that SC Johnson Philippines sells its Baygon mosquito coils at a lower 11 cents in the Philippines when it costs 18.5 cents in Indonesia, where the coils are made. Green Coil claimed that due to import dumping, its factory utilization had gone down to 40 percent in 2008 from 80 percent in 2006, a Trade department document released in late 2009 showed. SC Johnson Philippines refuted the dumping charges on Wednesday. "SC Johnson was both surprised and extremely disappointed in the decision of the [Trade department]. [The department’s] preliminary decision was that mosquito coils produced in Indonesia and imported by SC Johnson [had been] ‘dumped’ in the Philippine market — a decision that SC Johnson believes is not supported by the facts it provided," it said. The department allegedly did not consider data that SC Johnson Philippines had submitted to justify its pricing, the importing firm said without elaborating. Trade officials were not immediately available for comment. "Mosquito coils are valuable tools that consumers use to protect their families from mosquitoes and the diseases they carry, and SC Johnson wants to continue to provide those products at a fair and competitive price," SC Johnson Philippines said. "We intend to pursue all possible legal remedies in the hope the decision can be quickly corrected," it said. The Tariff Commission is studying the case and is expected to submit a recommendation to the Trade department on whether a duty should really be imposed. Formed in 1957, SC Johnson Philippines is fully owned by SC Johnson & Son, Inc., the 124-year-old, family-owned consumer product firm based in Wisconsin. Johnson wax products first entered the Philippines in 1928 through distributor Ed A. Keller & Co. Ltd. Other brands include Raid, Off!, Autan, Glade, BayFresh and Toilet Duck. SC Johnson posted P2.621 billion in revenues in 2008, up by more than a tenth, while profits jumped by almost three-quarters to 196 million. — Jessica Anne D. Hermosa, BusinessWorld