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The Department of Agriculture is seeking preferential tariff rate for Philippine banana exports to Japan
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Manila looks to review the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement as an initial opportunity to discuss the Philippine appeal
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DA is also seeking to revive the Japanese market for Philippine mangoes
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The agency has scheduled the first meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture in the second quarter of this year
The Department of Agriculture (DA) in coordination with the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is seeking preferential tariff rate for Philippine banana exports to Japan.
Japan is the leading export destination for Philippine bananas, but this situation is under threat from Cambodia, Laos, Mexico, and Vietnam whose exports to Japan enjoy zero or preferential tariff, DA said in a statement.
Philippine bananas are a staple for Japanese consumers, accounting for 22% of their food basket. DA noted the Philippines’ proximity to Japan allows the country to deliver low-cost bananas and other tropical fruits compliant with Japanese food standards.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. also said Manila is looking to review the Japan-Philippines Economic Partnership Agreement (JPEPA) as an initial opportunity “to discuss the Philippines’ appeal for lower tariff on bananas.”
JPEPA, signed in 2006, is a comprehensive bilateral trade and investment agreement between Japan and the Philippines aimed at increasing trade and investment opportunities between the two economies.
Under JPEPA, tariff on Philippine bananas is pegged at 8% from April 1 to September 30, and then increased to 18% for imports between October 1 and March 31.
DA is also seeking to revive the Japanese market for Philippine mangoes, whose export had declined sharply since Japan adopted in 2011 stricter sanitary and photo-sanitary standards, especially the maximum residue limit.
During the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Japan Summit in December 2023, Tiu Laurel Jr. led ceremonies to mark the re-entry of Philippine mangoes to Japan, with the presentation of the tropical fruit to his Japanese counterpart.
Agriculture Attache Aleli Maghirang, who is assigned at the Philippine Embassy in Tokyo, said she is hopeful fresh Davao mangoes’ re-entry in the Japanese market will spur “greater confidence to our exporters to continue supplying to Japan.”
Tiu Laurel also directed the immediate improvement of testing laboratories to align the Philippine food code with those of importing countries like Japan, and the enhancement of farming practices and production of good quality planting materials for expansion and replanting.
In addition, DA has scheduled the first meeting of the Philippines-Japan Joint Committee on Agriculture in the second quarter of this year. This is a follow up to meetings in Japan last year wherein Tiu Laurel met Japanese officials and businessmen to open more export opportunities for Philippine fish and tropical fruits such as pineapple, bananas, avocado, mangoes, durian, mangosteen and okra.
Tiu Laurel said the joint agriculture committee meeting “will provide an avenue to follow through the agri-fisheries trade and market access discussions started in Japan.”
It will also be an opportunity to discuss technical and project collaborations under the memorandum of cooperation signed in February last year, and the MIDORI Cooperation Plan.
In October 2023, together with other member of the ASEAN, the Philippines signed the MIDORI plan which aims to promote cooperation projects using Japanese technology and sharing experiences to build resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems for future food security.
Japan is the second largest market for Philippine agri-food exports, enjoying a trade surplus of US$824 million in 2022. At the end of the third quarter last year, Philippine agricultural trade with Japan showed a $596.4 million surplus in favor of the Philippines.
