THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Tuesday it is willing to negotiate for zero tariffs on banana exports to Japan.
Agriculture Undersecretary for Policy and Planning Segfredo R. Serrano told reporters in an interview that the DA will negotiate for the elimination of tariffs on banana exports under the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (Jpepa).
This is after the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) reiterated its request for Manila to renegotiate its free-trade agreement with Tokyo to bring down tariffs for banana to zero, a move supported by the Japan Fresh Produce lmport and Safety Association.
However, Serrano said producers should also ensure the quality of their products to become more competitive.
“We will negotiate for better trade terms for them [banana producers]. However, they should also try to bring down their costs and be more competitive with the others,” he said. Serrano said tariff is not the only reason for the drop in the Philippines’s share in the Japanese market. “Tingnan nating mabuti kung mababawasan ’yung detentions. Nag-eexceed tayo ng chemical residue limits [of Japan],” he said.
Serrano said Japan is a lucrative and high-income market, but it has strict food-safety standards.
The PBGEA earlier said several Japanese importers struck deals with suppliers in Mozambique, Vietnam, Costa Rica and Indonesia, consequently reducing Japan’s dependence on the Philippines to supply its fresh-banana requirements.
Fresh bananas exported from those countries enjoy zero tariffs for their pooled quotas of 1,000 tons per year, as opposed to the tariffs for Philippine banana that ranges from 8.5 percent to 18.5 percent. There is no quota being imposed in the country, as well.
Agriculture Secretary Proceso J. Alcala said on Wednesday he will meet with the PBGEA within the month to address its concerns.
Serrano said the country is also pushing to lower the tariffs for processed foods, fisheries and tropical fruits, such as bananas, mangoes and pineapples.
He also disclosed Japan is pushing for the Philippines to lower its food-safety standards on agricultural products from Fukushima as their studies deemed these products to be safe from risk of radiation.
“Babaan daw ang food-safety requirements sa dairy, meat, vegetables and fruits, kasi safe daw at kinollate na nila ’yung data. Sinasabi nila yung ibang bansa tulad ng Canada tinatanggap na,” Serrano said.
However, Serrano said local experts and regulatory agencies still need to verify the data given by Japan based on the country’s Food Safety Act.
“Kailangan very careful tayo sa technical reports nila. Kailangan pag-aralan ng experts natin,” he said.
7 comments
Good job DA for listening and being open to negotiations to protect the billion dollar banana industry, a consistent top dollar earner of Philippine agriculture and a major prime mover in the country’s economy. Because of the banana industry, 3 million people’s lives in Mindanao has been empowered and uplifted and it would be a shame if we lose our standing in the world market because of imposed tariffs that are not present in our competitors.
Great! this may support the industry on Japan market for our banana exports and global competitiveness for sustaining economic growth.
This might just help us get back lost market share in Japan. Just imagine if we lost Japan to other banana exporters, thousands of people in Mindanao will be greatly affected.
This is good news! This is the kind of support the banana industry needs in order to keep flourishing and to maintain our standing as one of the top exporters in the world.
Hopefully it’s not yet too late. Our banana export volume has gone down already. We better act fast.
We are already starting to lose significant market share in Japan. Hopefully this negotiation isn’t too late, and we are able to keep hold of our position as top exporter.
There’s no other way to gain this share back but to minimize or eliminate tariff on our exports. This needs to happen ASAP.