THE Delegation of the European Commission (EC) in the Philippines will allocate a total of €6.5 million to assist the Philippine exports industry in improving access to the European Union’s (EU) largest single market that has a total of €10.9-trillion combined gross domestic product (GDP).

Gabriel Munuera-Vinals, head for economic, political and public affairs division of the EC delegation, said the fund assistance under the Trade Related Technical Assistance (TRTA) will be implemented in the next four years.

It aims to assist Philippine exporters to increase their compliance with the EU Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) controls requirements.

“The new allocation set to be released at the end of 2008 will be much more flexible in facilitating and helping the Philippine exporters to improve their capacity to access the EU market,” said Vinals in a recent briefing at the EC delegation.

The delegation, he said, still awaits the response of the Department of Foreign Affairs on the new trade-assistance program. The EU has allocated €3.5 million during the launch of the project in February 2005.

The new trade-assistance program seeks to cover all components in enabling the Philippine exports industry to access the EU market, which t includes the creation reception box at the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) that would advise local companies on how they could comply with the TBT and SPS requirements of the EU.

The EU official also noted that the Philippines’ customs agency also needs to improve its reputation by addressing cases of smuggling of goods.

Another area for improvement includes the Philippine coconut industry, which needs to improve its compliance with the SPS requirements before it could access the EU market.

Vinals said improvements in the coconut industry are vital to the Philippines since a total of 3.5 million farmers and their families depend on it.

The program is being implemented with key government agencies National Economic and Development Authority, Department of Agriculture, Philippine Coconut Authority, Bureau of Customs and the DTI.

The EU official also said the “assistance does work,” especially in the fishery industry, like tuna.

The TRTA has provided assistance in the form of training and fund allocation for upgrading of tuna canaries in General Santos and Davao to enable the tuna exports to penetrate the EU market.

Vinals said the assistance is also being done in around 15 countries across Asia that covers fishery and food and safety training.

A BILL mandating the establishment of a provident personal-savings plan for the country’s retirees has been approved on third and final reading by the House of Representatives.

THE Delegation of the European Commission (EC) in the Philippines will allocate a total of €6.5 million to assist the Philippine exports industry in improving access to the European Union’s (EU) largest single market that has a total of €10.9-trillion combined gross domestic product (GDP).

DAVAO CITY—The Davao Region earned P4.719 million in the last-day tally of the recently held National Trade Fair (NTF) in Metro Manila, making the region the second-best performer among regional exhibitors.

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) is setting aside P90 million to boost the production, consumption and commercial use of root crops like sweet potatoes and cassava.

THE Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) under the Department of Agriculture (DA) has decided to forgo construction of a P10-million tilapia fillet processing plant in Cagayan de Oro.

SUPPORTING the phasing out of coal-fired power plants, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri expressed his support to the “Quit Coal!” campaign of Greenpeace Southeast Asia to reduce global warming caused by greenhouse-gas emissions.