Consumers May Soon Pay More for Mushroom Pizza; Chilean Mushroom Producer Frustrated by Commerce Dept. Duties.

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Nov. 2, 1998--American pizza lovers may soon feel the impact of a recent Department of Commerce decision that could nearly double the price of mushrooms sold in this country.

On August 5 of this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced that it plans to place antidumping duties of up to 198.63 percent on imports of preserved mushrooms from Chile, India, Indonesia, and China. The International Trade Commission will make the final ruling on Chile's case on Nov. 17, 1998.

The decision will directly affect Nature's Farm Products of Hayward, Calif., which owns and operates the only mushroom farm in Chile that exports to the U.S. market.

"I can't believe the injustice to the U.S. consumer," said Pete Pizzo, vice president of Nature's Farm. "Not only will prices jump, but our business and the customers we serve will also be harmed. We are very concerned that the possible price increases will affect consumer demand for all mushrooms," Pizzo said. "We produce a high-quality preserved mushroom for our customers. It will be a shame to see our product taken from the market."

The decision will effectively remove the company from the U.S. market, forcing staff reductions in the U.S. and Chile. Pizzo hopes that when the International Trade Commission (ITC) makes its final decision, it will recognize that his company poses no threat to the U.S. preserved mushroom industry.

"The harm to the U.S. preserved mushroom industry is created by the shift in consumer preference to fresh mushrooms," Pizzo said. "Our imports to the U.S. have decreased in the past few years as our customers, like Pizza Hut in 1997, shift to fresh mushrooms."

The ITC is set to rule whether material injury is caused or threatened to the domestic preserved mushroom industry by imports from Chile on November 17. If the ITC determines that injury exists, or is threatened, a duty of nearly 150% will be assessed on all preserved mushrooms from Chile.

The trade case was filed in January of this year by a group called the Coalition for Fair Preserved Mushroom Trade against the countries of Chile, India, Indonesia, and China.