13-3-3098 Purchaser Questionnaire

OMB No. 3117-0016/USITC No. 13-3-3098; Expiration Date: 6/30/2014
(No response is required if currently valid OMB control number is not displayed)

U.S. PURCHASERS’ QUESTIONNAIRE
LEMON JUICE FROM ARGENTINA AND MEXICO

This questionnaire must be received by the Commission by no later than March 15, 2013
See page 4 of the Instruction Booklet for filing instructions.
The information called for in this questionnaire is for use by the United States International Trade Commission in
connection with its review of the suspended investigations concerning lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico (Inv. Nos.
731-TA-1105-1106 (Review)). The information requested in the questionnaire is requested under the authority of the
Tariff Act of 1930, title VII. This report is mandatory and failure to reply as directed can result in a subpoena or other
order to compel the submission of records or information in your possession (19 U.S.C. § 1333(a)). Further information
on this questionnaire can be obtained from Amelia Preece (202-205-3250, amelia.preece@usitc.gov).

Name of firm

_________________________________________________________________

Address
City

State

Zip Code

World Wide Web address
Has your firm purchased lemon juice (as defined in the instruction booklet) from any source (domestic or foreign)
at any time since January 1, 2007?

NO

(Sign the certification below and promptly return only this page of the questionnaire to the Commission)

YES

(Read the instruction booklet carefully, complete all parts of the questionnaire, and return the entire
questionnaire to the Commission so as to be received by the date indicated above)

CERTIFICATION
I certify that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge
and belief and understand that the information submitted is subject to audit and verification by the Commission.
By means of this certification I also grant consent for the Commission, and its employees and contract personnel, to use the
information provided in this questionnaire and throughout this proceeding in any other import-injury proceedings or reviews
conducted by the Commission on the same or similar merchandise.
I acknowledge that information submitted in this questionnaire response and throughout this proceeding may be used by the
Commission, its employees, and contract personnel who are acting in the capacity of Commission employees, for developing or
maintaining the records of this proceeding or related proceedings for which this information is submitted, or in internal audits and
proceedings relating to the programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3. I understand that all
contract personnel will sign non-disclosure agreements.

Name of Authorized Official

Title of Authorized Official

Date

Phone:
Signature

Email address
Fax

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire – Lemon Juice

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PART I.—GENERAL INFORMATION
The questions in this questionnaire have been reviewed with market participants to ensure that issues of
concern are adequately addressed and that data requests are sufficient, meaningful, and as limited as
possible. Public reporting burden for this questionnaire is estimated to average 40 hours per response,
including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering the data needed,
and completing and reviewing the questionnaire. Send comments regarding the accuracy of this burden
estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the
burden, to the Office of Investigations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW,
Washington, DC 20436.
I-1a.

OMB statistics.--Please report the actual number of hours required and the cost to your firm of
preparing the reply to this questionnaire and completing the form.
hours

dollars

I-1b.

OMB feedback.--We are interested in any comments you may have for improving this
questionnaire in general or the clarity of specific questions. Please attach such comments to your
response or send them to the above address.

I-2.

Establishments covered.--Provide the name and address of establishment(s) covered by this
questionnaire (see page 3 of the instruction booklet for reporting guidelines). If your firm is
publicly traded, please specify the stock exchange and trading symbol.

I-3.

Ownership.--Is your firm owned, in whole or in part, by any other firm?

I-4.

No

Yes--List the following information.

Firm name

Address

Extent of
ownership

Related SUBJECT importers/exporters.--Does your firm have any related firms, either
domestic or foreign, that are engaged in importing lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico into
the United States or that are engaged in exporting lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico to the
United States?
No

Yes--List the following information.

Firm name

Address

Affiliation

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART I.--GENERAL INFORMATION--Continued
I-5.

Related NONSUBJECT importers/exporters.--Does your firm have any related firms, either
domestic or foreign, that are engaged in importing lemon juice from countries other than
Argentina and Mexico into the United States or that are engaged in exporting lemon juice from
countries other than Argentina and Mexico to the United States?
No

Yes--List the following information.

Firm name and country

I-6.

I-7.

Address

Affiliation

Related producers.--Does your firm have any related firms, either domestic or foreign, that are
engaged in the production of lemon juice?
No

Yes--List the following information.

Firm name

Address

Affiliation

Business plan.--Does your company or any related firm have a business plan or any internal
documents that describe, discuss, or analyze expected market conditions for lemon juice?
No

Yes--Please provide these documents. If you are not providing the requested
documents, please explain why not.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART II.--PURCHASES
Contact information.-- Please identify the responsible individual and the manner by which Commission
staff may contact that individual regarding the confidential information submitted in this questionnaire.
Name
Title
Email
Telephone
Fax

II-1.

Purchases.--Report, as indicated below, your firm’s purchases (either directly or through a sales
agent or broker) of lemon juice. Report based on delivery date, not order date.

Quantity (in 1,000 Gallons @ 400 GPL) and value (in $1,000)
Item
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Purchases of lemon juice produced in-The United States:
Quantity
Value
Argentina:
Quantity
Value
Mexico:
Quantity
Value
All other countries:1
Quantity
Value
1
Please identify these countries:

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PART II.--PURCHASES--Continued
II-2.

Purchases before and after order. -(a)

Did your firm purchase lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico before 2007?
No--skip to (c)

(b)

Yes

If yes, has your pattern of purchasing lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico changed
since 2007?
No, our pattern of purchasing is essentially unchanged.
Yes, we discontinued purchases from Argentina and Mexico because of the order.
Yes, we reduced purchases from Argentina and Mexico because of the order.
Yes, but we changed the pattern of purchases from Argentina and Mexico for reasons
other than the order (please explain below).

(c)

Has your pattern of purchasing lemon juice from nonsubject foreign sources (i.e.,
countries other than Argentina and Mexico) changed since 2007?
We did not purchase from nonsubject foreign sources before or after the order.
No, our pattern of purchasing is essentially unchanged.
Yes, we increased purchases from nonsubject countries because of the order.
Yes, but we changed our pattern of purchases from nonsubject countries for reasons
other than the order (please explain below).

II-3.

Changes in purchasing patterns.-- Please indicate how the relative levels of your firm’s
purchases of lemon juice from different sources (both domestic and foreign) have changed
since 2007.
Source of
purchases
United States

Argentina

Mexico

All other
countries

Did not Decreased Increased Constant Fluctuated
purchase

Explanation for
trend

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART II.--PURCHASES--Continued
II-4.

Purchases from one country only.--If your firm has purchased lemon juice from only one
country, please explain the reasons for doing so.

II-5.

Share of juice types.-- Please report the share of your firm’s purchases of concentrated lemon
juice and NFCLJ (organic and non-organic) lemon juice in 2012.

Type of juice

Share of quantity of
2012 purchases

Concentrate, non-organic

%

NFCLJ, non-organic

%

Concentrate, organic

%

NFCLJ, organic

%

Total

II-5.

100 %

Supplier identification.-- Please list your firm’s FIVE largest suppliers for lemon juice since
2007. Also, provide the share of the quantity of your firm’s total purchases of lemon juice that
each of these suppliers accounted for in 2012.

No.

Supplier’s name

City and state

Share of quantity of
2012 purchases

1

%

2

%

3

%

4

%

5

%

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES
III-1.

Firm type.--Which of the following best describes your firm as a purchaser of lemon juice (check
all that apply)?
End user (Lemonade producer)
End user (other beverage producer)
End user (other food producer)
Distributor
Other (Describe:

III-2.

)

Competition for sales.--If you are a distributor or reseller of lemon juice, do you compete for
sales to your customers with the manufacturers or importers from which you purchase lemon
juice?
No

Yes--Please describe

III-3.

Types of customers.--If your firm is a distributor or reseller of lemon juice, what are the major
types of consumers to which you sell lemon juice?

III-4.

End uses.--If your firm is an end user of lemon juice, list in order of quantity of lemon juice
consumed, the top 3 products for which your firm purchases lemon juice as a component part or
input. Please indicate what percentage of the total cost is accounted for by lemon juice and other
inputs.
Share of total cost in each of the product(s)
you produce accounted for by
Product(s) you
produce

Lemon Juice
(percent)

Other inputs (percent)

Total

%

%

100%

%

%

100%

%

%

100%

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-5.

Demand for end use products.-(a)

If your firm is an end user of lemon juice, has the demand for your firm’s final products
incorporating lemon juice changed since 2007?
Increased

(b)

Decreased

Fluctuated

Has this had any effect on your firm’s demand for lemon juice?
No

III-6.

No change

Yes

Explain

Changes in end uses.-- Have there been any changes in the end uses of lemon juice since 2007?
Do you anticipate any future changes?
Changes in end
uses

No

Yes

Explain

Changes since
2007
Anticipated
changes

III-7.

Substitutes.--Can other products be substituted for lemon juice?
No

Substitute
1. Fresh lemons
2. Lemon oil
3. Citric acid
4. Other juices
5.
6.

Yes--Please fill out the table.

End use in which this
substitute is used

Have changes in the prices of this substitute
affected the price for lemon juice?
No Yes

Explanation

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-8.

Changes in substitutes.-- Have there been any changes in the number or types of products that
can be substituted for lemon juice since 2007? Do you anticipate any future changes?
Changes in
substitutes

No Yes

Explain

Changes since
2007
Anticipated
changes

III-9.

Organic vs non-organic.—Does organic lemon juice differ from non-organic lemon juice?
No

Yes

Explain

III-10. Demand trends.-- Indicate how demand within the United States and outside of the United States
(if known) for lemon juice has changed since January 1, 2007, and how you anticipate demand
will change in the future. Describe the principal factors that have affected, and that you anticipate
will affect, these changes in demand.

Market

No
Increase change Decrease Fluctuate
Demand since 2007

Within
the United
States
Outside
the United
States
Anticipated future demand
Within
the United
States
Outside
the United
States

Factors

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-11. Demand for fresh lemons.—How does demand for fresh lemons influence the supply of lemon
juice, if known?

III-12. Demand for lemon oil trends.-- Indicate how demand for lemon oil within the United States and
outside of the United States changed since January 1, 2007

Market

No
Increase change Decrease Fluctuate

Do not
know

Factors

Demand since 2007
Within
the United
States
Outside
the United
States

III-13. Demand for lemon oil impact.—How does demand for lemon oil influence the supply of lemon
juice, if known?

III-14. Cost of lemon disposal.—How does the costs of disposal of lemons influence the supply of
lemon juice, if known?

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-15. Supply factors.—In addition to changes in demand, what supply factors have affected apparent
consumption (total U.S. markets shipments from all sources) of lemon juice within the United
States since January 2007 (check all that apply)?
Very
important

Somewhat
important

Not
important

Argentine lemon crop ......................
Mexican lemon crop ........................
U.S. lemon crop ..............................
Disease ...........................................
Nonsubject imports of lemon juice ..
Packaging .......................................
Subject imports of lemon juice ........
U.S. inventories of lemon juice .......
Weather ...........................................
Loss of lemon grove acreage in
Argentina .........................................
Loss of lemon grove acreage in
Mexico .............................................
Loss of lemon grove acreage in the
United States...................................
Increased imports of lemon juice
rather than fresh lemons .................
Other (specify):
........

III-16. Supply factors degree.—Please discuss the degree to which demand and each of these supply
factors had an effect on apparent consumption in the U.S. market and price and shipment of U.S.
produced lemon juice.

IV-17. Raw materials.—Do you anticipate changes in your raw material costs in the foreseeable future?
No

Yes—Please explain.

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-18. Co-mingle/ blend.-- Do you co-mingle/blend lemon juice?
Changes in substitutes

No Yes

Explain why

Organic with non-organic

Imported with U.S. grown
Juice that has been in
storage for close to 2 years
with fresher juice
Is there any end use for
which U.S. lemon juice
must be blended with juice
from Argentina or Mexico?

III-19. Market studies.--Please provide as a separate attachment to this request any studies, surveys, etc.
that you are aware of that quantify and/or otherwise discuss lemon juice supply (including
production capacity and capacity utilization) and demand in (1) the United States, (2) each of the
other major producing/consuming countries, including Argentina and Mexico, and (3) the world
as a whole. Of particular interest is such data from 2007 to the present and forecasts for the
future.
III-20. Importance of purchasing domestic product.--Is buying a product that is produced in the
United States an important factor in your firm’s purchases of lemon juice (check ALL that
apply)?
No
Yes-- Purchases of domestic product are required by law or regulation (for example,
government purchases under “Buy American” provisions). This involves
percent
of all our purchases of lemon juice.
Yes--Purchases of domestic product are not required by law or regulation, but are by our
customers. This involves
percent of all our purchases of lemon juice.
Yes--Purchases of domestic product are required for other reasons (please specify these
reasons below). This involves
percent of all our purchases of lemon juice.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-21. Conditions of competition.-a) Is the lemon juice market subject to business cycles or conditions of competition (including
seasonal business) distinctive to lemon juice?
No (skip to question III-22.)

Yes-- Please describe and then answer part (b).

(b) If yes, have there been any changes in the business cycles or conditions of competition for
lemon juice since January 1, 2007?
No

Yes-- Please describe.

III-22. Decisions based on producer.--Does your firm, and to the extent that you know, do your
customers make purchasing decisions involving lemon juice based on the producer of the lemon
juice you purchase?

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

If at least sometimes, discuss
how your firm/customers
determine the producer and why
this information is important

Your firm
Your
customers

III-23. Decisions based on country-of-origin.--Does your firm, and to the extent that you know, do
your customers make purchasing decisions involving lemon juice based on the country of origin
of the lemon juice you purchase?

Always

Your firm
Your
customers

Usually

Sometimes

Never

If at least sometimes, discuss
how your firm/customers
determine the source and why
this information is important

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-24. Purchasing frequency.-(a)

How frequently do you make purchases (check one)?
Daily

(b)

Weekly

Monthly

Quarterly

Annually

Other

If other, specify

Do you expect this purchasing pattern to change in the next two years?
No

Yes-- How and why do you expect these changes to occur?

III-25. Number of suppliers contacted.--How many suppliers do you generally contact before making a
purchase?
firms
III-26. Supplier negotiations.-(a)

Do purchases of lemon juice usually involve negotiations between supplier and
purchaser?
No

(b)

Yes--Please describe these negotiations, noting whether purchasers
generally quote competing prices as part of the negotiation
process.

Does your firm tend to vary its purchases from a given supplier within a specified time
period based on the price offered for that period?
No

Yes--Specify the time period.

III-27. Change in suppliers.--Have you changed suppliers since 2007?
No

Yes-- Please list the supplier(s), whether the firm was added or dropped, the
reasons for the change, and how frequently you change suppliers.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-28. Refused supply.—Has any producer or importer refused to sell or been unable to sell you lemon
juice at any time since January 2007?
No

Yes-- Please list the supplier(s), when this occurred and the reason for the
refusal or inability to sell.

III-29. New suppliers.-(a)

Are you aware of any new suppliers, either foreign or domestic, that have entered the
market since 2007?
No

(b)

Yes--Please identify the firms and indicate how you became aware of
them.

Do you expect new lemon juice suppliers to enter the U.S. market?
No

Yes--Please provide details.

III-30. Ventura Coastal/Sunkist Growers joint venture
(a)

Has the creation of the joint venture between Ventura Coastal and Sunkist Growers
affected your purchasing process?
No

Yes--Please describe the changes (e.g. has you purchasing frequency
changed or have the supplier negotiations changed).

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
(b)

Has your business been impacted by the creation of the joint venture between Ventura
Coastal and Sunkist Growers?
No

Yes--Please describe the impact.

III-31. Supplier qualification
(a) Do you require your suppliers to be or to become certified or qualified to sell lemon juice to
your firm?
No

Yes--

percent of value of purchases in 2012

Yes--all purchases

(b) Please provide a general description of the certification or qualification process. Briefly
describe the factors that you consider when qualifying a new supplier (e.g., quality of product,
reliability of supplier, etc.)

(c) How long does it take to qualify a new supplier?

days

III-32. Failure to certify.--Since 2007, have any domestic or foreign producers failed in their attempts to
certify or qualify their lemon juice with your firm or have any producers lost their approved
status?
No

Yes--Please identify these firms, the countries where they are located, and the
reasons why they failed the certification/qualification.

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-33. Purchasing factors.--For the factors listed below, please rate each in terms of its importance in
your purchase decision for lemon juice.
Very
important
Availability .......................................
Delivery terms .................................
Delivery time ...................................
Discounts offered ............................
Extension of credit...........................
Price ................................................
Minimum qty requirements ..............
Packaging .......................................
Product consistency ........................
Quality meets industry standards....
Quality exceeds industry standards
Product range..................................
Reliability of supply .........................
Technical support/service ...............
Availability of organic ......................
Color ................................................
Availability of GPL 400 ....................
Availability in not from concentrate .
Availability of GPL greater than 400
Availability in clear juice ..................
Availability in cloudy juice ...............
High acidity......................................
Low viscosity ...................................
Freshness of juice ...........................
U.S. transportation costs .................
Other (specify):
........
........
........

Somewhat
important

Not
important

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-34. Major purchasing factors.--Please list, in order of their importance, the three major factors
generally considered by your firm in deciding from whom to purchase lemon juice for any one
order (examples include availability, extension of credit, contracts, price, quality, range of
supplier’s product line, traditional supplier, etc.).
1.
2.
3.
Other factors or comments:

III-35. Quality characteristics.--What characteristics does your firm consider when determining the
quality of lemon juice?

III-36. Frequency of decisions based on price.--How often does your firm purchase the lemon juice
that is offered at the lowest price?
Always

Usually

Sometimes

Never

III-37. Price leaders.— A price leader is defined as (1) one or more firms that initiate a price change,
either upward or downward, that is followed by other firms, or (2) one or more firms that have a
significant impact on prices. A price leader is not necessarily the lowest priced supplier.
Please list the names of any firms you considered price leaders in the lemon juice market since
2007. Describe how the firm(s) exhibited price leadership.

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART III.-- MARKET CHARACTERISTICS AND PURCHASING PRACTICES--Continued
III-38. Changes in U.S. industry.-(a)

Please identify and discuss any improvements/changes in the U.S. lemon juice industry
since 2007 and explain the factors, including the order(s) under review, that were
responsible for each improvement/change.

(b)

Please discuss any improvements/changes that you anticipate in the future in the U.S.
lemon juice industry. Identify the time period and causes for these
improvements/changes.

III-39. Effect of revocation.--What do you think will be the likely effects of any revocation of the
suspended investigations for imports of lemon juice from Argentina and Mexico? As appropriate,
please discuss any potential effects of revocation of the suspended investigations on (1) the future
activities of your firm and (2) the U.S. market as a whole. Please note the future time period to
which you are referring.
(1) Activities of your firm:

(2) Entire U.S. market:

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS
IV-1.

Country knowledge.--Please indicate the countries of origin for lemon juice for which your firm
has actual marketing/pricing knowledge.
United States
Argentina and Mexico
Other countries (specify

IV-2.

)

Interchangeability by country-pair.--Is lemon juice produced in the United States and in other
countries interchangeable (i.e., can they physically be used in the same applications)?
Please indicate A, F, S, N, or 0 in the table below:
A = the products from a specified country-pair are always interchangeable
F = the products are frequently interchangeable
S = the products are sometimes interchangeable
N = the products are never interchangeable
0 = no familiarity with products from a specified country-pair
Country-pair

Argentina

Mexico

Other countries

United States
Argentina
Mexico

For any country-pair producing lemon juice that is sometimes or never interchangeable, please
explain the factors that limit or preclude interchangeable use:

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS--Continued
IV-3.

Factors other than price.--Are differences other than price (i.e., quality, availability,
transportation network, product range, technical support, etc.) between lemon juice produced in
the United States and in other countries a significant factor in your firm’s purchases of the
products?
Please indicate A, F, S, N, or 0 in the table below:
A = such differences are always significant
F = such differences are frequently significant
S = such differences are sometimes significant
N = such differences are never significant
0 = no familiarity with products from a specified country-pair
Country-pair

Argentina

Mexico

Other countries

United States
Argentina
Mexico

For any country-pair for which factors other than price always or frequently are a significant
factor in your firm’s purchases of lemon juice, identify the country-pair and report the
advantages or disadvantages imparted by such factors:

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PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS--Continued
IV-4.

Availability of merchandise.--Are certain grades/types/sizes of lemon juice available from only
a single source (domestic or foreign, including both subject and nonsubject countries)?
No

IV-5.

Yes--Please identify the source and the grade/type/size.

Choice of product not based on price.--If you purchased lemon juice from one source although
a comparable product was available from another source at a lower price, please explain your
reasons for doing so (please specify by country, including the United States and both subject and
nonsubject foreign countries). Possibilities might include transaction characteristics such as
length of time to fill orders, minimum order size, reliability of supply, etc.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS--Continued
IV-6. Factor country comparisons.--For the factors listed below, please rate how lemon juice
produced in each country you identified in your response to the first question in Part IV compares with
lemon juice produced in each of the other countries you identified (including the United States and both
subject and nonsubject foreign countries).

Inferior

Comparable

product from
Argentina
compared to
product from
Mexico

Superior

Inferior

Comparable

product from
United States
compared to
product from
Mexico

Superior

Inferior

Comparable

Superior

product from
United States
compared to
product from
Argentina

Availability ...............................................
Delivery terms .........................................
Delivery time ...........................................
Discounts offered ....................................
Extension of credit...................................
Price1 .......................................................
Minimum quantity requirements ..............
Packaging ...............................................
Product consistency ................................
Quality meets industry standards............
Quality exceeds industry standards ........
Product range..........................................
Reliability of supply .................................
Technical support/service .......................
Availability of organic ......................
Color ................................................
Availability of GPL 400 ....................
Availability in not from concentrate .
Availability of GPL greater than 400
Availability in clear juice ..................
Availability in cloudy juice ...............
High acidity ......................................
Low viscosity ...................................
Freshness of juice ...........................
U.S. transportation costs1 .......................
Other (specify):

1

A rating of superior on price and U.S. transportation costs indicates that the first country generally has
lower prices/U.S. transportation costs than the second country.

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U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

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PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS--Continued
Continued.

Inferior

Comparable

Superior

compared to
product from

Inferior

compared to
product from

Comparable

compared to
product from

Superior

product from

Inferior

product from

Comparable

product from

Superior

IV-6.

Availability ...............................................
Delivery terms .........................................
Delivery time ...........................................
Discounts offered ....................................
Extension of credit...................................
Price1 .......................................................
Minimum quantity requirements ..............
Packaging ...............................................
Product consistency ................................
Quality meets industry standards............
Quality exceeds industry standards ........
Product range..........................................
Reliability of supply .................................
Technical support/service .......................
Availability of organic ......................
Color ................................................
Availability of GPL 400 ....................
Availability in not from concentrate .
Availability of GPL greater than 400
Availability in clear juice ..................
Availability in cloudy juice ...............
High acidity ......................................
Low viscosity ...................................
Freshness of juice ...........................
U.S. transportation costs1 .......................
Other (specify):

1

A rating of superior on price and U.S. transportation costs indicates that the first country generally has
lower prices/U.S. transportation costs than the second country.

Business Proprietary
U.S. Purchasers’ Questionnaire - Lemon Juice

Page 25

PART IV.-- PRODUCT COMPARISIONS--Continued
IV-7.

Minimum quality.--How often does lemon juice from the following countries meet minimum
quality specifications for your uses or your customers’ uses?
Source

Always

Usually

Sometimes

Rarely or
never

Don’t
know

United States
Argentina
Mexico

IV-8.

Change in price.-(a)

Since 2007, has there been a change in the price of lemon juice? If so, has the price of
U.S.-produced lemon juice changed more or less than the price of imported lemon juice
from Argentina and Mexico?
No change in price
Prices have changed by the same amount
Price of U.S.-produced lemon juice has changed relative to the price of lemon juice
from Argentina.
Price of U.S.-produced lemon juice has changed relative to the price of lemon juice
from Mexico

(b)

If the price of U.S.-produced lemon juice has changed relative to the price of lemon juice
from Argentina and Mexico, the price of U.S.-produced lemon juice is now relatively
Higher

Lower – than those from Argentina.

Higher

Lower – than those from Mexico.