Sunkist Growers, a marketing cooperative owned by 6,000 members that accounts for the majority of U.S. lemon juice production, said the U.S. government should put in place anti-dumping duties that will offset the unfair price advantage of foreign importers and make local growers more competitive.

The U.S. International Trade Commission is expected to determine on Nov. 6 whether lemon juice imports from Argentina and Mexico are hurting domestic growers.

If the ITC finds injury it would then make a preliminary anti-dumping determination in late February, a Department of Commerce representative said.

"For the past three years, imports of lemon juice have been entering the U.S. in increasing volumes and at declining prices, to the point of unprofitability," Mike Wootton, Sunkist's senior vice president for corporate relations, said in a statement.

The investigation only deals with lemon juice used as an ingredient in other products. It does not include lemon juice already packaged for sale in retail containers or beverage products such as lemonade that usually contain 20 percent or less of juice.

Sunkist said an increase in lemon production in Argentina and Mexico has boosted juice inventories, resulting in an increase in exports to the United States and lower prices domestically.

The Commerce Department estimated $13.2 million of lemon juice was imported from Argentina and Mexico in 2005, down from $16.4 million two years earlier.