Australia’s Anti-Dumping Commission is to investigate claims that French and Korean newsprint has been dumped on the local market.

The commission has reviewed an application by Norske Skog alleging dumping margins of 6.6 per cent and 12.85 per cent, and is to launch a full-scale investigation.

French maker UPM and Jeonju, South Korea are named in the application, which claims imports from France and Korea jumped from about five per cent of the Australian market in 2010/11 to 13 per cent last year, an increase of 70 per cent.

The country’s only home producer of newsprint, Norske Skog – which has mills in Albury (NSW) and Boyer (Tasmania) – claims low prices charged by the overseas mill affected its contract negotiations and profit margins.

The company calculates 2013 dumping margins from Korea on the basis of imports into Western Australia and Queensland at $83 a tonne (12.85 per cent of export prices), and for French newsprint at $40 a tonne (6.66 per cent of export prices). In early 2014, weighted average dumping margins were calculated at 41.83 per cent for France and 32.07 per cent for Korea.

The investigation is expected to take up to 60 days with Norske Skog asking for a quick determination.

Pictured on our homepage: Norske Skog’s Boyer mill, where one maching has been switched from newsprint to coated paper production