The investigation covers wheat gluten used primarily in food manufacturing, baking, pet food and other industrial applications

The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has officially initiated a formal anti-dumping investigation to determine whether vital wheat gluten imported from Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom is being sold at unfairly low, predatory prices in the domestic market.

According to government authorities, the probe seeks to investigate whether these imports undermine fair market competition and jeopardize the financial security of domestic agricultural processing operations.

The targeted ingredient is critical across the food industry and is widely used to enhance the protein content and texture of whole-grain baked goods, pasta, pizza dough, pet foods, and plant-based meat substitutes.

The trade inquiry was triggered following a comprehensive corporate complaint filed by ADM Agri-Industries Co., based in Candiac, Québec.

The domestic producer alleges that an aggressive surge in the total volume of underpriced European imports has inflicted severe material injury on Canadian operations.

According to the filed complaint, the practices have led to direct price undercutting, severe market price suppression, and declining profit margins. Furthermore, the domestic firm highlighted immediate negative impacts on local inventory management, production capacity utilization, overall market share, and sales volume.

The legal complaint is actively supported by Permolex Ltd., an independent processor based in Red Deer, Alberta.

Taken together, ADM Agri-Industries Co. and Permolex Ltd. collectively account for the entirety of commercial wheat gluten production across Canada.

While the United States historically stands as the primary exporter of the product to the country, recent trade data highlights that imports from Italy, Poland, and the United Kingdom spiked heavily by up to 325 percent between 2024 and 2025, altering domestic market dynamics.

Currently, the Canadian wheat gluten market is valued at approximately US$74 million annually.

Canada’s trade remedy framework divides the investigative duties between two distinct bodies under the Special Import Measures Act (SIMA) to protect local jobs.

First, the Canadian International Trade Tribunal (CITT) has initiated its own parallel preliminary injury inquiry to assess whether these low-cost foreign shipments are harming domestic manufacturers, with an initial ruling deadline set for August 18, 2026.

Concurrently, the CBSA will analyze the pricing data to determine if dumping is officially occurring.

The border agency is scheduled to release its initial preliminary decision by September 17, 2026, a milestone that could trigger immediate provisional anti-dumping duties on incoming European shipments.

Source: Millingmea