The European Union (EU) will impose provisional anti-dumping duties on imports of Chinese-made sodium benzoate, according to a document published in the Official Journal of the EU.

The duties will take effect on July 29. A provisional anti-dumping duty of 57.6% will be applied to products from Wuhan Youji Industries, 63.8% for Shandong TongTaiWeiRun Food Science Tech, 75.4% for Tianjin Dongda Chemical Group, and 116.4% for all other Chinese exporters.

The investigation was initiated following a complaint by German chemical company Lanxess, which alleged that sodium benzoate, used as a food preservative, was being sold on the EU market at dumped prices.

According to preliminary findings by the European Commission, Chinese producers exported the product at artificially low prices. Imports of sodium benzoate into the EU more than doubled between 2022 and 2024, and the market share of Chinese producers rose from 33% to 55%.

The investigation is expected to continue until the end of January 2027. Based on its outcome, the European Commission will decide whether to impose definitive anti-dumping duties, which typically last for five years.