DA chief seeks audience with Guingona, Roxas on Cairns issue

Agriculture Secretary Leonardo Q. Montemayor said he would initiate a meeting with two other Cabinet members to look deeper into the wisdom of the Philippines pulling out of the 18-member Cairns group in asmuch as its current leader, Australia, has not been as forceful in negotiating for better trade terms for its members in the European Union.

Montemayor said he would ask Trade and Industry Secretary Manuel Roxas II and Foreign Affairs Secretary Teofisto Guingona for a meeting to finally come up with a formal position defining the status of the Philippines’ membership in this trade bloc.

He recalled that Cairns, an informal trade group among small and medium exporters of agricultural products, was formed to ensure a voice in global trade which has been dominated by strong economies like Europe and the United States. The Philippines is one of its founders.

When some of the members of group, including the Philippines, were having difficulty in getting better tariff terms in the European Union for canned tuna, Australia being the current leader of the bloc, did not come out strongly in defense of these members, he said.

Canned tuna from the Philippines is being slapped a 24-percent tariff by the E.U. while those coming from former colonies of Europe enjoy duty free treatment, which is an outright violation of the World Trade Organization provision.

But the Philippines has been getting the support of ASEAN countries in its fight for better trade terms with the European market.

Australia, a strong advocate of fair trade, has not demonstrated its commitment to fair trade when the Philippines was seeking access for its tropical fruits in that market. So in this sense, it is right in re-thinking our membership in that group, Montemayor said in a press conference.

He added that the reported withdrawal of the Philippines in the Cairns Group would be a good leverage for the Philippines in its bid to enter the Australian market for its tropical fruits. "This would fasttrack the entry of our tropical fruits in the market," Montemayor said.

Similarly, Montemayor said a technical team from the Bureau of Plant Industry and the private sector is leaving for Australia Monday to finalize "the remaining concerns" of the Australian quarantine officials with respect to bananas and pineapples.

One such concern is that Australian quarantine people — thinking that the crown of pineapple is a potential breeding place for diseases — want this part to be removed prior to allowing shipments of pineapples in that market. But Filipino exporters would not want to export crown-less pineapples because these would not look attractive to buyers in that country, Montemayor said.

The Australian quarantine inspection service (AQIS) has assured the Philippines that it would do its best to meet its previously-agreed deadline for the completion of its import risk analysis (IRA) by June 30, 2002.