Food exporters group calls for lower tariff on imp

Consumers are tired of government’s candy-coated promises. Filipino users must be assured stable, if not lower sugar prices, according to Edward F. David, chairman of the Philippine Food Processors and Exporters Organization (Philfoodex).

The government should not even think of increasing the tariff on sugar to 80 percent from 65 percent, or to negotiate for a higher tariff on the commodity without consulting with consumers and other affected sectors, David said.

"It would do the country’s sweet lovers good if the government brought down the tariff on sugar to five percent or to zero percent, at the most," he said.

Reacting to proposals to raise the tariff on sugar during the recent World Trade Organization (WTO) multilateral trading systems forum on agriculture, David said government, by all means, should protect the sugar industry in view of its WTO commitments and its goal to raise money for its cash-strapped treasury, "but not to the disadvantage of consumers."

David noted that a higher tariff meant that manufacturers would pay more for the sugar they import. "Quite alarming, considering that the Philippines is a net importing country for sugar but more critically, this meant added costs would be passed on to users," he added.

Compared to Vietnamese and the Thai consumers who buy refined sugar for only P13 per kilo, David said Filipinos pay more than twice for sugar because of the high tariff imposed on the commodity.

"Should the tariff on sugar instead be brought down as finished products with sugar like chocolates which has a tariff of only 10 percent? This alone has been driving makers of food-with-sugar out of business," he said.

Given the situation, sugar users and consumers should instead get more from any deal the government enters into, he said.

The Philfoodex official said the Department of Agriculture (DA), the National Food Authority (NFA), Sugar Regulatory Administration (SRA) and the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) should show more concern for the Filipino users who had been reeling from recent unfavorable economic developments in the country.

"Whoever sought to bring the tariff on sugar up to 80 percent during the WTO forum should be made to account for the grave mistake he had made. Worse, information has it that certain government officials tolerated this person to prioritize his business and personal interests in the negotiations. He must have wanted the Filipino consumer to suffer more," David said.