China decided to extend the anti-dumping investigation on chloroprene rubber imported from Japan, the United States and the European Union by six months, Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced Monday.

The ministry launched the anti-dumping investigation on Nov. 10, 2003 against the chloroprene rubber, which was originally scheduled to be completed on Nov. 10, 2004. The ministry decided to extend the investigation to May 10, 2005.

According to China's anti-dumping regulations, the investigation looked into whether the dumping exists, dumping margin and damage to the domestic industry.

Industrial expert estimated that the world annual production of chloroprene rubber could reach 373,000 tons, and China so far produces 20,000 tons per year, only six percent of the total.