SHANGHAI: China’s Commerce Ministry said on Wednesday it will continue to impose anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs on the animal feed ingredient distillers dried grains (DDGS) imported from the United States for another five years.

The move, widely expected by the industry, keeps tariffs amounting to as much as 66% on the product, after they expired in 2021 and were followed by a one-year review period ending on Jan. 11. DDGS are a protein-rich byproduct from ethanol production that is fed to animals.

Chinese ethanol producers are struggling under high prices of corn, the main raw material, and weak domestic consumption, said Rosa Wang, an analyst at Shanghai JC Intelligence Co Ltd.

The ethanol branch of the China Alcohol Industry Association welcomed the ministry’s announcement.

“Over the past five years, the double duties have achieved remarkable results, effectively curbing the unfair trade of distiller’s grains from the United States, and ensuring the healthy development of the domestic distiller’s grains industry,” it said in a statement on the association’s official Wechat account.