SACCHARINE (ANTI-DUMPING DUTY)

May 6, 2019

The Finance Ministry has, on the recommendations of the Commerce Ministry, imposed an anti-dumping duty of $1,633.17 per tonne on the import of saccharine from Indonesia.

Saccharine:

What is it? Saccharin is an artificial, or non-nutritive, sweetener.
History: The substance was first discovered in 1878 by researcher Constantin Fahlberg. Its popularity increased during the 1960s and 1970s among dieters as a result of its ‘calorie-free’ status.
Applications: Saccharine is a compound most commonly used in sugar-substitute sweeteners. It is used to sweeten products such as drinks, candies, cookies, and medicines.
Properties:
- It is 200 to 700 times sweeter than sucrose (table sugar), does not raise blood sugar levels and like all non-nutritive sweeteners has no calories. However, it does have a bitter or metallic aftertaste, especially at high concentrations.
- Saccharin is unstable when heated but does not react chemically with other food ingredients, which makes it good for storage.
India’s import from Indonesia: Indonesia, until recently, accounted for a large chunk of India’s saccharine imports. However, imports from Indonesia have declined since then. In the April 2018 to February 2019 period, India imported only 20% of its total saccharine imports from Indonesia.
Recent ban: According to Government of India, saccharine has been exported to India from Indonesia below their normal values and consequently, the Indian domestic industry has suffered a lot.