Air cargo to and from the Philippines went down 12.94%
to 40,246,196 kilograms (kg) in the first two months
of the year from 46,227,464 kg during the same period
last year, according to latest data from the Civil
Aeronautics Board (CAB).
Inbound shipments during the period totaled 13,869,184
kg and outbound, 22,017,212 kg.
Cathay Pacific handled the most cargo for the period
with 4,619,794 kg, up 0.06% from 4,617,240 kg of last
year. In particular, the airline carried 1,005,679
kg of cargoes to and from Cebu and 3,614,105 kg to
and from Manila.
Philippine Airlines (PAL) ranked second in the CAB
report for the period even if it did not submit its
February figures. The airline shipped 4,572,646 kg
in January, up 9.23% compared with 4,186,357 kg it
handled in January 2003.
United Parcel Services (UPS) remained the third top
air cargo carrier with 4,539,052 kg, up 54.04% from
2,946,686 kg handled in the first two months of 2003.
The express courier company saw a 36.52% increase
in export volume. Singapore Airlines ranked fourth
with 3,570,678 kg. This is up 22.71% from 2,909,789
kg moved during last year's comparable period.
Fifth top air cargo carrier was Korean Air which
transported 2,960,556 kg. The airline remained competitive
despite an 8.92% decline in shipments from 3,250,548
kg last year.
Eva Air and Thai Airways landed in sixth and seventh
place with 2,741,242 kg and 2,032,635 kg, respectively.
Eva Air shipments grew 42.04%, while Thai Airways'
fell 15.29% compared with its shipments during the
previous year.
Completing the list of top ten carriers for the period
were Northwest Orient, which carried 1,816,523 kg,
down 32.21% from 2,679,730 kg; Japan Airlines in the
ninth spot which carried 1,717,270 kg; and Asiana
Airlines with 1,617,300 kg.
PHILIPPINE Ports Authority (PPA) general manager
Alfonso Cusi recently approved an additional P90 million
for the rehabilitation and upgrade of the port of
Pulupandan in Negros Occidental.
PPA assistant general manager for Corporate Affairs
and Special Projects Raul T. Santos said the 12-hectare
port needs further works, including fencing and the
building of a passenger terminal which, at present,
is still being finalized.
The additional budget will also finance the extension
of the new roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) wharf, widening
of the road to the wharf from the gate, and construction
of a back-up area for cargo containers. Santos said
the construction of the port has already started and
PPA is expecting to complete the project in one year.
The port has an existing finger pier measuring 192
meters and a current draft of nine meters. The port
upgrade will enable Pulupandan to accommodate international
vessels and boost capacity, he noted.
The PPA is currently completing some P268 million
worth of works at the Pulupandan port, including construction
of a new wharf extending it roughly 200 meters westward,
and the construction of ro-ro facilities. The extension
of the pier will help address the siltation problem
which impedes bigger vessels to call at the port.
The ro-ro facility, on the other hand, is part of
PPA efforts to promote the government's Strong Republic
Nautical Highway (SRNH). The Pulupandan port has a
direct link to the port of Bacolod.
In a related development, the PPA has announced plans
to build a P320-million reefer rack for the Sasa Wharf
in Davao to boost its capability to handle refrigerated
cargoes. The facility is designed to accommodate 144
more reefer containers in addition to the existing
60 operational outlets.
The PPA said the cold storage facility will be equipped
with a powerhouse and standby power supply and is
expected to enhance Sasa Wharf's competence in reefer
cargo handling.
Major commodities in the area include fresh bananas,
sea products, meat and dairy products.
THE Bureau of Customs (BOC) recently ordered the
reduction of the safeguard duty for gray Portland
cement from P20.60 to P15.60 per 40 kilogram (kg)
bag.
In Customs Memorandum Circular No. 10-2003, Commissioner
Antonio M. Bernardo said the bureau finds enough ground
to reduce the commodity's safeguard duty.
The measure is effective until December 9, 2004 or
the end of the third year of its implementation. On
November 7, 2001, the Department of Trade and Industry
(DTI) issued an order imposing a provisional safeguard
measure amounting to P20.60 per 40 kg bag of gray
Portland cement due to the continuing decline in sales,
revenues, income, market share and employment.
The measure became permanent after DTI issued its
decision favoring the recommendations made by the
Tariff Commission. The order is also in response to
the directive given by Finance DOF Secretary Juanita
Amatong in consideration of the DTI's request.
The DTI recently came out with a review on the application
for general safeguard measures against the importation
of gray Portland cement from various countries to
assess its effects on the industry, consumers and
the public.
In his letter to Amatong, Trade Secretary Cesar Purisima
said the department reviewed the prices of cement
for the period prior and after the imposition of the
measure. The trend in prices, he noted, is an indicator
of the industry's improvement in efficiency that can
be used to determine proper reduction of safeguard
duties.
The department noted cement prices jumped 41% from
P83 per 40 kg bag in October 2002 to P117 in January
this year. Consequently, retail prices went up from
P98 to P143 or an increase of 37% during the same
period.
Retail prices, however, stabilized to P125 to P130
per 40 kg bag during the first two weeks of February
2004.
The Safeguard Measures Act is designed to promote
competitiveness of domestic industries and producers,
protecting them from increased imports that threaten
their businesses. A general safeguard measure is applied
when there is a surge in the volume of a product being
imported as this may cause serious injury to the domestic
industries and producers.
In line with the directive, Purisima said all importers
of gray Portland cement are required to secure a Certificate
of Country of Origin from an authorized agency or
office in the source country of manufacture with authentication
from the Philippine Embassy.
Meanwhile, the BOC ordered the exemption from the
definitive safeguard duty of all shipments of ceramic
floor and wall tiles which arrived in the country
before October 18, 2003.
DTI said this is in line with the amendment to the
list of developing countries exempt from duties under
the "developing country rule" where their share of
imports to total Philippine imports exceed the minimum
requirement of 3%.
PRESIDENT Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will soon sign
an executive order (EO) reducing duties on imported
capital equipment to 1% for firms registered with
the Board of Investments (BOI).
Acting BOI managing head Elmer C. Hernandez said
the order will grant businesses a reprieve as they
wait for the law scrapping all taxes and duties on
imported machinery and spare parts.
Arroyo is expected to sign the EO after the elections
while waiting for Congress to be in session. The Tariff
Commission has already conducted public hearings on
the matter.
The draft EO is now with the Cabinet-level Tariff
and Related Matters committee for further deliberations.
There are no estimates on how much the government
will lose over the measure. At present, rates are
anywhere between 1% and 10%. Hernandez said the government
cannot remove duties altogether because of the existing
policy disallowing a 0% rate.
Also, tax relaxation may not be applied on imported
capital equipment and tax credits purchased locally
as this is under Congress' authority. "The impact
of this order is that it will reduce costs.
We should only tax investors when they are making
money, not when they are about to start doing business,"
he said, noting that the EO was a priority in attracting
more investors.
The clamor for tax breaks on imported machinery was
triggered by a resolution submitted by Albay representative
Jose Salceda urging Arroyo to lower duties under Sections
401 and 402 of the Tariff and Customs Code. The Department
of Trade and Industry (DTI) expressed approval over
the move.
The number of BOI-registrants has steadily declined
over the years - from 1,103 in 1989 (P53 billion in
investments) to 795 in 1994 (P500.7 billion), 419
in 1997 (P345 billion) and 147 in 2000 (P35 billion).
In 2002, only 156 new companies registered with the
BOI bringing with them P58 billion in investments.
In 1989, BOI-registered investments created 160,298
new jobs.
This fell to 79,667 jobs in 1997 and 20,372 in 2000.
In 2002, jobs created grew slightly to 27,785.
The Department of Finance (DOF) also supported the
call for a tax break on machineries. "DOF recognizes
the role of tax incentives as a means of enhancing
the country's international competitiveness by improving
its ability to attract foreign direct investments,"
it stated in a position paper.
However, the DOF pointed out it wants safeguards
in lifting the duty since this will mean about P1
billion in revenue losses for the government.
The department also said tax breaks should be limited
to capital equipment not available locally. - Maritess
R. Mesias
ABOITIZ Transport Services Corp., formerly WG&A
Inc., reported a 13% decline in net profit last year
due to higher operating costs.
The company said it generated a consolidated net
income after tax amounting to P359 million, 13% less
compared with P413 million in 2002. "The company posted
higher consolidated net revenues in 2003 compared
to the previous year despite the general slow down
in the market volume and reduction of ships in operation
from 21 in 2002 to 19 in 2003," it said.
Last year, total revenues reached P7.7 billion,
up 8% compared with P7.1 billion revenues generated
a year before. Aboitiz Transport said the higher revenues
resulted from aggressive marketing efforts to promote
its higher-value passenger accommodations.
Passage revenue leaped from P3.4 billion in 2003
to P3.6 billion last year. Freight business, on the
other hand, went up 7% to P4 billion from P3.75 billion
as the company started focusing on higher-yielding
and higher-paying cargo shipments last year.
Despite the positive results in passage and in freight,
the higher operating costs which accounted for 10%
of the gross revenue pulled down the shipping firm's
net. The high operating costs were due to higher fuel
costs, expenses incurred for vessel upgrade and ship
management fees.
By end-2003, assets were at P9.5 billion, up 12%
compared with the previous year's P8.5 billion.
This was attributed to the purchase of two additional
vessels - SuperFerry 17 and 18, refurbishment of ships,
and purchase of new handling equipment to support
terminal operations. The new vessels, each of which
can carry 2,000 passengers, 227 twenties and 60 vehicles,
will be operational by the second quarter of the year.
The company said it aims to tap the global market
for its domestic shipping services this year.
As a first step, it has already forged an alliance
with Abacus Network, allowing online access of 10,600
travel agents all over Asia for international passenger
bookings.
