BEIJING, Jan. 31 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland announced Sunday it would extend anti-dumping measures by five years on imports of phenol from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the United States and Taiwan.

The Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said in a statement posted on its website that it decided to review the measures a year ago in response to applications from domestic phenol companies.

According to the MOC, if anti-dumping measures were discontinued, dumping of phenol might continue and would hurt the domestic industry again.

However, the MOC did not provide further information concerning what the measures were and when they would take effect.

Phenol is a chemical compound used in the production of some medicines, plastics, pesticides and synthetic resins.