Philippines working to improve Japan market access deals for fruit

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said the Philippines is working to improve market access to Japan for key fruit products like bananas, pomelos, and mangoes.

In a statement on Wednesday, the DA said Agriculture Secretary Francisco P. Tiu Laurel, Jr. met with Japan’s new agriculture minister and the senior vice-president of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to discuss lower tariffs on fresh bananas shipped to Japan.

Mr. Laurel has said that the government is pushing to lower the duties to a fixed rate of between 5% to 8% from the current seasonal tariff rates of 8% to 18%.

The DA said the tariff negotiations are meant to serve as a temporary measure to keep Philippine bananas competitive, while the country works toward securing zero duties when it accedes to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement whose members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the UK, and Vietnam. It provides for more liberalized trade, including zero tariffs on a wide range of goods.

The DA said it is also seeking expanded market access for pomelos and updated protocols for the entry of mango, papaya, and poultry from avian flu-free regions.

Former Agriculture Undersecretary Fermin D. Adriano told BusinessWorld that lower tariffs on bananas would be a “tremendous help,” as Japan is the country’s largest market for the fruit.

“Unlike bananas from Ecuador, which are imposed a zero tariff when entering the Japanese market, Philippine banana is slapped a tariff of 8% to 18%, depending on the season,” he said via Viber.

Mr. Adriano added that the proposed rationalization of quarantine measures for other fruit exports, such as mango and papaya, could help expand the market, as these fruits currently face strict sanitary and phytosanitary requirements.

However, Mr. Adriano said Japan might request reciprocal tariff reductions for its exports to the Philippines as a precondition for any agreement.

Meanwhile, the DA said it also proposed expanding the existing memorandum of cooperation (MoC) on agriculture between Japan and the Philippines to include fisheries.

“Japan welcomed the (proposed amendment) and will host the second Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture meeting in June. Secretary Laurel expressed hope that the amended MoC will be signed this year,” the DA said.

The DA said the Philippines also secured Japanese aid for a rice processing hub in Cauayan City, Isabela, with a grant agreement set for signing in February.

The DA also requested JICA support for other projects, including integrated food logistics hubs, a nationwide study on commodity distribution, modernization of small-scale fisheries, the rehabilitation of Magat Dam, and the expansion of the DA’s vegetable value chain project. — Vonn Andrei E. Villamiel