The Philippines is ready to pursue an update to its trade deal with Japan to expand banana exports, signaling the government’s intention to secure better market access for one of the country’s top agricultural commodities.
Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said last week that the government is preparing a trade proposal to offer Tokyo as part of efforts to expand shipments of the tropical fruit to Asia’s second-largest economy.
‘They mentioned that it can be possible if we have something to offer. So I’ll have to talk to (Department of Trade and Industry) and our sister or partner agencies in the Philippines to see what to come up with a package that we can offer them,’ Tiu Laurel told reporters on the sidelines of the 47th Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers on Agriculture and Forestry.
He said discussions may include a possible gradual reduction of import tariffs on Philippine bananas, similar to trade arrangements Japan has extended to other producers in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), such as Vietnam and Thailand.
The planned talks come months after Trade Secretary Cristina Roque announced in May that the government would push for a general review of the Philippines-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (PJEPA), the country’s first bilateral free trade deal.
Roque had said the review was ‘long overdue,’ noting that both sides were supposed to revisit the terms of the agreement as early as 2011 and every five years thereafter.
She said agricultural products, including bananas, were among the items the Philippines wanted to advance in the negotiations.
At the time, Roque said she was set to meet with Japanese officials in Tokyo to discuss possible adjustments to the PJEPA following earlier efforts by trade representatives to remove seasonal tariffs on Philippine banana exports.