The Philippines will push for the elimination of seasonal tariffs on Philippine bananas bound to Japan and the scrapping of quota on Philippine pineapples in the upcoming general review of the Philippine-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement.
Special trade representative in Tokyo Dito Angara-Mathay said the Department of Trade and Industry was preparing a detailed narrative on the Philippines’ interests in the JPEPA meet in consultation with stakeholders.
“We’re still trying to schedule the next general review but we have a lot of offensive interest in agriculture now that banana and pineapple growers have put up a strong lobby for greater access. We’re really pushing hard to pin them down on an honest general review,” she said.
Philippine exports of Cavendish bananas to Tokyo face 18-percent tariff during the winter season and 8 percent during summer.
The Philippine trade office in Tokyo noted the eroding market share of Philippines bananas as it slowly loses to Ecuadorian and Mexican bananas which are less taxed.
“Right now, we are losing market because of the entry of Ecuadorian bananas. What we want is for our bananas to be accorded the same tariff as that of Ecuador’s and Mexico’s. We want a level playing field,” Mathay said.
Philippine market share in Japan’s banana market reached a high of over 90 percent. With the entry of other banana exporters, the Philippines’s share eroded to about 70 percent.
Philippine bananas are priced higher because the taste is better compared to Ecuadorian and Mexican bananas, an advantage that the Philippines continue to cash in.
Mathay said the Philippines was also asking Japanese retailers to increase the price of Philippine bananas. It has been 15 years since the price of Philippine banana moved.
“At the end of the day, that will still be a supply demand situation, but we can ask Japan to bring down the tariffs to zero, the same rates as Ecuadors’s and Mexican’s. This will make our banana exports more competitive,” she said.