Noodle Wars: Turkey Dumps Canadian Pasta Producers

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The Canadian International Trade Tribunal said in a press release on Tuesday that abundant subsidies allowed Turkish dry wheat pasta to be sold in Canada at below market prices, likely injuring Canadian noodle makers.

"The Tribunal’s inquiry was conducted pursuant to the Special Import Measures Act as a result of the initiation of dumping and subsidizing investigations by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)," the release said on Tuesday. "The CBSA will continue its investigations and, by March 28, 2018, will issue preliminary determinations."

The Tribunal hears cases on dumped and subsidized imports, safeguard complaints, complaints about Canada’s federal government procurement and appeals of customs and excise tax rulings, the release explained.

Depending on the final outcome of the probe, Canada has the option of imposing duties to protect domestic noodle makers, according to the Tribunal.

According to global technology research and advisory company Technavio, the global pasta market is expected to grow in the future due to the increasing demand for convenient food products like instant pasta and dried pasta and also fundamental changes in consumer lifestyle, increasing disposable income, increase in health awareness, and rise in demand for convenient food.