Asean members back RP effort to sell agri products to Australia

The Philippines and other members of the ASEAN Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (AMAF) threatened not to participate in the proposed ASEAN Free Trade Area-Closer Economic Relations (CER) countries unless Australia relaxes its restrictions on the importation of fresh tropical fruits and other agricultural products.

AMAF members also reiterated their protest over Australia’s protectionist policies before the World Trade Organization (WTO).

Agriculture Assistant Secretary Segfredo R. Serrano who attended the 22nd meeting of AMAF last month in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, said the Philippines got the support of other member-countries of the ASEAN in pursuing its campaign to pressure Australia to lift its existing barriers on the entry of fresh tropical fruits such as bananas and pineapples from the country.

The AMAF agreed to express the regional trade group’s reservations in joining the AFTA-CER unless the issue is satisfactorily resolved. Australia is one of those wooing AFTA members to integrate their group with CER economies such as New Zealand.

The Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) also promised to "forcefully raise the matter" with CER representatives at the ministerial level and at the senior economic officials' meeting.

Philippine tuna producers and processors have been at the forefront of a campaign to pressure the US, EU and Canada to reduce import tariffs on canned tuna.

Earlier, the Canneries Association of the Philippines, the largest group of local tuna producers and processors, sought to bring down import tariffs from EU member-countries which exclude the Philippines from their preferential tariff rate.

In contrast, Latin-American countries are allowed by the Lome Convention to export at a zero tariff to the EU countries.

Among EU countries, Spain already informally agreed to sponsor the entry of the Philippines into the Lome Convention.

The Philippines exports about 80,000 metric tons of canned tuna annually to EU, US and Japan, earning for the country about P19.3 billion yearly. – Rocel Felix