The Export Development Council (EDC) aims to improve the capability of local exporters to overcome nontariff measures (NTM), including those concerning sanitary and phytosanitary standards (SPS), fumigation testing and labeling requirements.
The EDCs technical working group (TWG) on NTM met recently to find ways to boost the export competitiveness of micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) stymied by burdensome NTMs.
NTMs are policy measures, other than ordinary customs tariffs, that can potentially have an economic effect on international trade in goods, changing prices or quantities traded, or both.
On the difficulty of exporters to comply with SPS because of high fumigation costs, the group pointed to the scarcity of fumigation firms in the Philippines as one of the reasons for this. In one region, for instance, a lone fumigation company serves the whole area’s needs, and the lack of competition allows the firm to monopolize business and impose high prices.
To solve the problem, the TWG agreed to push to make fumigation a more viable business in the country.
The Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority, which regulates fumigation operations in the country, will also be requested to map all fumigation establishments to identify gaps and spread out their presence, particularly in the countryside.