Sao Paulo, May 25 - U.S. juice maker Tropicana wants the U.S. government to cut an import tariff on Brazil orange juice exporters, Sao Paulo business daily Valor Economico reported Friday from Washington.
According to the report, Tropicana wants a 9.73% to 60.29% antidumping tax removed on Brazilian juicers in order to ease import prices for Brazil juice for U.S. consumers.
Some of Brazil's major juice companies, such as Cutrale and Montecitrus, were charged with selling below market rates to the U.S. last year and forced to pay a higher tax penalty as a result.
A Tropicana press agent told Dow Jones Newswires that the company was "pleased" with the U.S. Court of International Trade's recent ruling that requires the International Trade Commission, or ITC, to review the 2006 case again. The ITC has until the end of June to render a redetermination, Tropicana said. Tropicana said it disagreed with some of the ITC's legal analysis on the antidumping charge.
"Tropicana believes there is not sufficient evidence to support the Commission's determination that certain imports from Brazil materially injured the domestic citrus industry," the press agent said in favor of a review of the tax penalty imposed on the Brazilian juice makers.
"We haven't heard anything about this on our end, but it makes sense that they would ask that (to change the dumping charge)," said Ademerval Garcia, president of the Brazilian Association of Citrus Exporters.
Garcia said Brazil would have enough concentrated orange juice to help supply the U.S. market. Brazil should export around 1.3 million tons of orange juice this year, making it the world's leading exporter of orange juice.
In the U.S., Florida orange crops have been shrinking over the last four years because of weather damage caused by hurricanes. Florida is the No. 2 orange producer behind Sao Paulo in Brazil.
According to Valor, Brazil sold 797 million liters of orange juice to the U.S. in 2006, down from 882 million in 2005. Brazil juice exports to the U.S. are expected to drop to 51% of U.S. market share this year from 68% in 2006 and 81% in 2003, according to U.S. government figures compiled by Valor.
Tropicana is owned by PepsiCo (PEP).