PBGEA to DA: Keep Japan trade

By Cheneen R. Capon
The Pilipino Banana Growers and Exporters Association (PBGEA) urged the Department of Agriculture (DA) should work “proactively and aggressively” on the renegotiation of the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA).
“This is one of our major concerns because Japan is starting to import banana from other banana-producing countries like Vietnam, Indonesia, Peru, and Equador,” PBGEA executive director Stephen Antig told reporters in this week’s edition of Wednesdays sa Habi at Kape in Abreeza.
Affecting the export volume of fresh banana exported to the Japanese market, the PBGEA sent another letter to the Department of Agriculture to remind the agency of the urgency and necessity to renegotiation which will benefit the multi-million dollar industry of banana.
Pegged as the largest export market for Philippine banana, Antig told reporters that one of their major concerns in the banana industry was the disparity of tariff imposed between Philippine banana and other banana producing countries.
Signed on September 2006, the Japan-Philippine Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) allows the liberalization and facilitation of trades in goods and services between Japan and the Philippines.
The JPEPA allows the reduction and elimination of tariff on certain products like banana and services exported by the Philippines to Japan.
Earlier, the group also encouraged the Department of Trade and Industry to take the lead of the renegotiation which was pushed by the group since 2010.
“We’re pushing the DA and DTI to have the renegotiation of the present JPEPA,”Antig said, adding that it will allow local producers and exporters here to continuously enter the Japanese market.
He said there’s urgency for the renegotiation of the trade agreement between Japan and the Philippines because Japanese importers are starting to make deals with banana suppliers from Indonesia, Mozambique, Vietnam and Costa Rica without tariff.
“We’re worried that Indonesia and Vietnam are now exporting banana to Japan, our biggest market,” he said.
Banana coming from Indonesia and Vietnam enters the Japanese market at zero tariff duty, compared to the Philippines bananas.
“We are paying a maximum of 18 percent tariff to Japan during winter and eight percent during summer, but Vietnam and Indonesia can export banana to Japan at zero tariff,” he said.
Antig added that the Philippines stands to lose its biggest market since Japan would resort importing its banana requirement to countries with zero tariff because it would bring down cost.