The Department of Agriculture (DA) said on Thursday it will ask South Korea to delay for a year its implementation of more stringent standards on fruit imports in 2017.
Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel F. Piñol said he agrees with the pronouncement of banana growers and exporters that they need more time to prepare for Seoul’s implementation of the nontariff measure.
“I will handle all these issues by meeting and listening to the banana stakeholders. I have to listen to them first,” Piñol told the BusinessMirror.
“After that meeting, I will [see] South Korean Ambassador [Kim Jae-shin] next week to talk about the matter,” he added.
Piñol will meet banana growers and exporters in Davao on Friday during the banana congress, where he will read a speech on behalf of the President.
The banana congress is a three-day gathering of government officials and members of the private sector aimed at addressing the current challenges of the banana industry, such as the widespread effect of Panama disease and China’s restrictions on banana imports.
Earlier, the Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) said the government should negotiate with Seoul to retain the status quo on the maximum residue limit (MRL) until December 31, 2017.
PBGEA warned that Seoul’s implementation of an MRL of 0.01 parts per million (ppm) on fruit imports starting January 1, 2017, could cause Philippine exporters to incur huge losses.
“Once [the new] MRL is implemented next year, there are no ifs and buts about it. That’s why it’s important for the government to understand the urgency of the matter,” PBGEA President Alexander N. Valoria told the BusinessMirror earlier.
MRL is the maximum concentration of a pesticide residue legally permitted in food commodities and animal feeds, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
The MRL standards are guided by the Codex alimentarius, or more commonly known as the “food code,” which details specific limits for every chemical compounds found in pesticides known and used in the global market.
The food code, which is reviewed annually to adapt according to market need, is a global standards set and assessed by the FAO and the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure food safety.
In April 2013 South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) announced that it would adopt a positive list system (PLS) on MRLs, and would do away with the traditional food code.
The transition from Codex to PLS would mean that South Korea will only keep its own MRL standards, while any chemical ingredient that is not registered and recognized by the MFDS would automatically be assigned an MRL of 0.01 ppm.
This means that any produce that has a pesticide residue exceeding 0.01 ppm will not be allowed to enter the Korean market.
The Philippines accounts for more than 90 percent of bananas being imported by South Korea annually. Local exporters shipped a total of 93,386 metric tons (MT) of bananas to South Korea valued at $47.70 million in the first half of 2016, according to data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
In 2015 South Korea imported a total of 212,083 MT of Philippine bananas amounting to $80.99 million in 2015, PSA data showed.
The PSA said South Korea accounted for 12.31 percent of total banana exports, making it the third-biggest buyer of Philippine bananas last year.
1 comment
Kailan mahihinto (end) ang LOW VALUE FRUITS and BANANA EXPORT ng PILIPINAS…more than five decades na ng nag-eexport ang Pilipinas ng LOW VALUE export, meaning, malalaking bultong kalakal (tons of products / cargo ships) na MURANG HALAGA…
Kung sa South Korea at Developed countries ay nasa yugto na sila ng HIGH VALUE export products (computer chips, electronics othes), ang Pilipinas ay nananatiling low and cheap products like SAGING, COPRA producs, COCONUT FIVER.. SEA FOODS…others)..
Hindi siya SUSTAINABLE, palaging dini-discriminate, protectionism at dumadaan sa highly-quality procedures ng bansang bumibili ng agricultural products mula sa PILIPINAS..